'I wasn't trying to kill anyone — I wanted to scare them': Yeoksam arson suspect faces detention ruling

A man in his 70s, identified only by his surname Lee, set fire to two patent law firms out of a personal grudge, injuring 19 people, and now faces a court decision on whether he will be detained. Rather than showing remorse, Lee has repeatedly insisted he was the one who was wronged.

Seoul Central District Court Judge Boo Dong-sik held a pre-detention hearing Thursday at 3 p.m. for Lee, who faces charges of arson of an occupied structure causing bodily harm.

Lee left Suseo Police Station in Seoul around 1:40 p.m. Thursday to travel to the court. When reporters asked whether he had intended to kill anyone, he said, "I wasn't trying to kill anyone — I wanted to scare them," and added, "I wanted to expose their fraud to the world. The state is protecting these swindlers."

When asked whether he had tried to block people from escaping, and why he had set the fire in front of an elevator if his only intent was to frighten people, Lee ignored the questions and continued making his own statements. He also produced a document he said detailed the fraud he claimed to have suffered.

When asked whether he felt sorry for the victims, he said nothing and boarded the transport vehicle.

About 20 minutes later, upon arriving at Seoul Central District Court, Lee pulled out the same document again as he entered the building, telling reporters, "I'm sorry to the victims, but take a good look at this."

Lee had gone to two patent law firms — one in Sinmyeong Building and one in Hanyang Building, both in Yeoksam-dong — around noon Tuesday and set them on fire. The blazes injured 19 people; one was transported to a hospital in cardiac arrest and remains under treatment. Including that person, five of the injured are in serious condition.

Since his arrest about four hours after the attacks, Lee has maintained that he was a victim of fraud. As he was transported to Suseo Police Station, he said, "The patent law firm defrauded me."

During the police investigation, he also stated that he "wanted to frighten people at the patent firm and expose what happened to the world." A ruling on whether Lee will be detained was expected later Thursday.