Cases of arson nearly doubled in 2008: report

SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- The number of arson cases in South Korea surged over
80 percent on-year to 799 cases in 2008, illustrating rising social and household
unrest caused by the protracted economic downturn, government figures showed
Thursday.
According to a report by the National Emergency Management Agency, a total of
49,631 fire accidents occurred across the nation last year, killing 468 people
and causing 382.1 billion won (US$282 million) in property damage.
Of the total, 799 cases of blaze were caused by arsonists, up 81.2 percent from
441 cases in 2007, the agency noted.
In one of the most notorious cases, an unemployed Seoul man set fire to an
85-room lodging house in southern Seoul last October and stabbed six of the
fleeing residents to death.
"Arsonists carried out incendiary attacks, usually because they wanted to vent
their resentment towards society or households by intentionally setting fire to
private or public buildings," said an agency official.
"Some of the arsonists suffered from mental illness."
brk@yna.co.kr
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