Man lands in jail for arson as result of not getting W50,000 in loan

A man in his 50s has been sentenced to six years in prison for setting fire to a one-room apartment of a friend who refused to loan him a measly 50,000 won ($45).

The 56-year-old appealed his sentence to the appellate court but was rejected.

The court said there was significant probability of people in the room dying from gas intoxication or high-level burns, thus making the heavy sentence justified.

Kim set fire to the one-room apartment in Chuncheon, Kangwon Province, on June 20 last year at 1:20 a.m. after fusing the place with kerosene, then igniting it with a lighter.

The fire resulted in three people getting severe burn wounds and the entire floor was destroyed.