Police seek arrest warrant for arson suspect in subway fire

Evacuated passengers gather aboveground at Yeouinaru Station on Seoul Metro Line 5, Saturday, after a fire broke out on a subway train. Yonhap

Police on Sunday filed for an arrest warrant for a man in custody for setting a fire inside a subway train in Seoul the previous day.

The suspect in his 60s was caught after allegedly setting fire to pieces of cloth inside a Line 5 train traveling between Yeouinaru and Mapo stations early on Saturday morning. He had boarded the train with a utility lighter and a fuel container.

The suspect reportedly admitted to the arson during police questioning and told them that he set the fire out of anger at the outcome of his divorce suit.

Police were able to identify and apprehend the suspect because he had a lot of soot on his hands when he was carried out on a stretcher from the platform at Yeouinaru Station.

More than 400 passengers escaped through the tunnel. Some inhaled smoke and sustained minor injuries, but no one was seriously hurt.