A man in police custody on suspicion of causing a fire that destroyed the country's No. 1 national treasure recently confessed to his allegation, the police said Tuesday.
The 70-year-old suspect, identified only by his last name "Chae," was apprehended at Ganghwa Island, west of Seoul, on Monday on suspicions of setting a fire that crumbled down Sungnyemun (Namdaemun), a 600-year-old gate in the capital, on Sunday night.
Police officials have inquired Chae since late Monday after discovering at his home clothes and a bag similar to those described by witnesses who told police they saw a man appearing to be in his 60s near Namdaemun, the site of the fire, with a backpack and a ladder.Police also found a bottle of paint thinner at the suspect's home.
Inside sources said Chae was the arsonist who set ablaze a part of a former royal palace in April 2006 and caused some 4 million won in damage.
A fire ravaged Namdaemun shocked Koreans who saw their cherished historical monument collapse at the onset of the Lunar New Year.
The landmark, officially called Sungnyemun, or "gate of revering decorum," was the southern gate of the walls that surrounding Seoul during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). It had survived a series of tribulations, from Japanese invasions in the 16th century to the 1950-1953 Korean War.
(Yonhap)