By Chung Hyun-chae
A Taiwanese man has been arrested for allegedly threatening to set fire to a Taiwanese consular office in Seoul, police said Friday.
The arrest came amid tightening security around foreign diplomatic missions here following a knife attack on U.S. Ambassador to Korea Mark Lippert during a breakfast seminar in Seoul on Thursday.
The Taiwanese man, 52, who is only identified as Lee, called the 112 crime report center twice on Thursday night, threatening to set the consular office on fire.
He said he was heading to the consulate with containers of gasoline.
After receiving the call, police beefed up security around the consulate and searched the surrounding area. However, they could not find any dangerous materials.
Later, police found that the phone calls were made from a public telephone near Seoul Station.
Hours later, police received a report that a drunken man was trying to break into the Chinese Embassy. The man was apprehended in a restaurant near the embassy.
Police later found that he was the man who made the threatening calls to police.
During questioning, Lee said he did so out of anger after the consulate rejected his requests to issue a passport.
Lee has Taiwanese nationality, but was born and raised in Korea, according to police.
Lee said he is homeless and sleeps near Seoul Station. Police found that he has an extensive record of criminal offenses.