At least seven people have been killed and dozens of others injured after an explosion ignited a fire on Thursday at the office of a law firm in the southern city of Daegu, South Korea, according to police. More than 150 firefighters were deployed to a law firm in the South Korean city shortly after a blaze broke out around 10:55 local time (01:55 GMT). Local officials say it took the crews approximately twenty minutes to calm the fire.
Local police investigating the blaze have yet to pinpoint the exact cause of the explosion; however, they believe it to be arson. Officials believe that the suspected perpetrator, a man in his 50s, was killed in the violent flames, granting him death at the scene of chaos he is believed to have caused. A team from the National Forensic Services was also deployed to the site.
BBC Korean reported that police labeled this man as a suspect based on CCTV footage from the office showing the alleged perpetrator entering the second-floor office with materials. The mystery man’s motive behind killing and injuring dozens of innocents lies under the category of a disgruntled client. Local media reports that he had filed a complaint at the lawyer’s office before his alleged attack.
However, an official from Daegu Metropolitan Police, Jeong Hyeon-wook, said security camera footage shows the suspect leaving his home holding what looks like a container with both hands that could have been used to set the blaze.
Of those who were killed, At a news briefing Thursday afternoon, the police said that the five men and two women who had died were identified. Still, no names were released—leaving the victims’ loved ones with not only false hope but also leaving them to grieve their loved ones’ apparent deaths and re-live the horrific experience of not knowing repeatedly.
According to Park Seok-jin, chief of Daegu’s Suseong district fire department, the high amount of deaths was likely due to the building’s lack of sprinklers on office levels. When questioned if there were any violations of legally mandated safety requirements, he remained silent, making it seem as though the government had something to hide.
South Korea has had several high-profile fires recently, some of which have been linked to lax safety standards, dating back as far as 1995 and as recently as 2020.
As lessons seem to have been continuously overlooked, police and fire departments continue to scramble to secure the truth behind what caused the raging fires of Daegu. It appears as though the causation of the flames could lean either way.
