'Everybody looks down on me'
Chief detective Kim also said Jeong was facing a police investigation for not taking part in annual military training for army reservists.
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Korean man torches building, kills six residents
October 22, 2008 Print Ready Email Article
HE hated the world around him and so it had to pay. A 31-year-old man - who has a history of mental problems and jail sentences - torched a four-storey building in southern Seoul, Korea and killed six of its residents yesterday.
Chief Detective Kim Kap-shik of Seoul's Gangnam Police Station, told AP that the suspect, arrested at the scene, said he did not want to live because 'everybody looks down on me'.
The man, identified as Jeong, was a high-school graduate whose 'livelihood was difficult and (he) has been under considerable financial pressure'.
He could not pay his rent and mobile phone fees for months.
Jeong used to work part-time at restaurants and other places, but had been out of a job since April this year.
He lay in wait
Chief detective Kim also said Jeong was facing a police investigation for not taking part in annual military training for army reservists.
In his statement, Jeong told police that he tried to commit suicide when he was a middle-school student, and had been suffering from severe headaches.
Yesterday's incident happened at a four-storey gosiwon - a building where entrants live to prepare for examinations for jobs in the civil service.
These building are popular with students and people seeking cheaper accomodation.
The attack started around 8.40am, when Jeong poured lighter fluid on his bed and set it on fire, said The Korea Times.
As the 69 residents of the building ran out of their rooms to avoid the flames, he waited on the third-floor staircase and stabbed them with a 24cm-long sashimi knife. He stabbed five people to death during his rampage. Another died after jumping out of a window to escape the blaze.
Seven others were hurt, including four seriously, and police say that the death toll could rise.
It took 100 firefighters 30 minutes to control the blaze.
The bodies of the victims were taken to Gangnam St Mary's Hospital and Soon Chung Hyang University Hospital.
And the victims were mostly ethnic Koreans from China staying at the low-cost residence while working as day labourers.
Police have charged Jeong for murder and arson.
They have also seized two more knives and a tear gas gun from him.
Yonhap news agency and other news media reported that Jeong has been convicted of crimes eight times in the past.
The tragedy has brought to the fore the issue of safety at gosiwons.
Since 2003, there have been nine cases of arson at gosiwons, with 25 killed and many more injured.
Of particular concern are the fire safety measures, emergency exits and other facilities.
Public alarm over crimes committed at random toward unspecified people is rising.
Experts warn that it's time for society to take care of those who have mental problems and harbor hatred against the community.
And they are also urging the government to have a management system for those with criminal records having no job.
Said a professor from Kyonggi University: 'One may not prevent such crimes. But at least we need to have some measures to deal with these people as they do not adapt well in society but get isolated and commit such spontaneous crimes.'
OTHER CASES
1. In 2003, a mentally disturbed man set fire to a metro train killing more than 200 people in Daegu
2. In February 2008, a 69-year-old man, upset over a land dispute, started a blaze that destroyed a 14th-century gate in Seoul that is considered one of South Korea's most treasured landmarks.
3. This year, Korea's neighbour, Japan, has been struck by random stabbings. In the worst case, seven people were killed in Tokyo's famous
Akihabara electronics district in June when a man slammed a truck into a crowd of people, jumped out and began stabbing passers-by. Back to News
Chief detective Kim also said Jeong was facing a police investigation for not taking part in annual military training for army reservists.
=============
Korean man torches building, kills six residents
October 22, 2008 Print Ready Email Article
HE hated the world around him and so it had to pay. A 31-year-old man - who has a history of mental problems and jail sentences - torched a four-storey building in southern Seoul, Korea and killed six of its residents yesterday.
Chief Detective Kim Kap-shik of Seoul's Gangnam Police Station, told AP that the suspect, arrested at the scene, said he did not want to live because 'everybody looks down on me'.
The man, identified as Jeong, was a high-school graduate whose 'livelihood was difficult and (he) has been under considerable financial pressure'.
He could not pay his rent and mobile phone fees for months.
Jeong used to work part-time at restaurants and other places, but had been out of a job since April this year.
He lay in wait
Chief detective Kim also said Jeong was facing a police investigation for not taking part in annual military training for army reservists.
In his statement, Jeong told police that he tried to commit suicide when he was a middle-school student, and had been suffering from severe headaches.
Yesterday's incident happened at a four-storey gosiwon - a building where entrants live to prepare for examinations for jobs in the civil service.
These building are popular with students and people seeking cheaper accomodation.
The attack started around 8.40am, when Jeong poured lighter fluid on his bed and set it on fire, said The Korea Times.
As the 69 residents of the building ran out of their rooms to avoid the flames, he waited on the third-floor staircase and stabbed them with a 24cm-long sashimi knife. He stabbed five people to death during his rampage. Another died after jumping out of a window to escape the blaze.
Seven others were hurt, including four seriously, and police say that the death toll could rise.
It took 100 firefighters 30 minutes to control the blaze.
The bodies of the victims were taken to Gangnam St Mary's Hospital and Soon Chung Hyang University Hospital.
And the victims were mostly ethnic Koreans from China staying at the low-cost residence while working as day labourers.
Police have charged Jeong for murder and arson.
They have also seized two more knives and a tear gas gun from him.
Yonhap news agency and other news media reported that Jeong has been convicted of crimes eight times in the past.
The tragedy has brought to the fore the issue of safety at gosiwons.
Since 2003, there have been nine cases of arson at gosiwons, with 25 killed and many more injured.
Of particular concern are the fire safety measures, emergency exits and other facilities.
Public alarm over crimes committed at random toward unspecified people is rising.
Experts warn that it's time for society to take care of those who have mental problems and harbor hatred against the community.
And they are also urging the government to have a management system for those with criminal records having no job.
Said a professor from Kyonggi University: 'One may not prevent such crimes. But at least we need to have some measures to deal with these people as they do not adapt well in society but get isolated and commit such spontaneous crimes.'
OTHER CASES
1. In 2003, a mentally disturbed man set fire to a metro train killing more than 200 people in Daegu
2. In February 2008, a 69-year-old man, upset over a land dispute, started a blaze that destroyed a 14th-century gate in Seoul that is considered one of South Korea's most treasured landmarks.
3. This year, Korea's neighbour, Japan, has been struck by random stabbings. In the worst case, seven people were killed in Tokyo's famous
Akihabara electronics district in June when a man slammed a truck into a crowd of people, jumped out and began stabbing passers-by. Back to News
