"Just Bored"... Reckless Teens Setting Fire in the Park

Fortunately, early containment achieved through quick citizen report
Considering the minor status, handed over to guardian

High school students who rode scooters to a park and set a fire were caught by the police following a citizen's report.

According to the police and fire authorities on the 1st, at around 3:25 a.m. that day, two high school students deliberately set fire to boxes and other items in a park located in Dongsan-dong, Deogyang-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province.

The fire, which burned boxes and fallen leaves, was extinguished by the police and fire authorities who responded to the scene. The police, who were dispatched following a citizen's report, arrested individuals attempting to flee on scooters in the park.
[Photo by Reader Provided·Yonhap News]

The fire burned boxes and fallen leaves and was extinguished by the responding police and fire authorities. The police, who arrived after receiving a report from a citizen, arrested the individuals as they attempted to flee the park on scooters.

There are residential complexes, schools, and large shopping malls near the park where the fire broke out, so thanks to the quick citizen report, greater damage was prevented.

It was understood that they told the police officers at the scene, "We were playing with fire out of boredom." Considering that the damage was not extensive and that they are minors, the police handed them over to their guardians and sent them home.

Arson is classified as a serious crime under our Criminal Law

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Minors or adolescents often take playing with fire lightly, but since fires can cause significant property damage as well as human casualties, it is treated as a serious crime. In particular, general arson does not carry a fine and is punishable by imprisonment for one year to ten years.

Under our Criminal Law, intentionally setting a fire is defined as arson. On the other hand, fires caused by accident are classified as reckless arson, with a significant difference in the level of punishment.

Above all, arson can cause harm even to innocent people and has a very high potential to lead to large-scale disasters, so its punishment is very severe. If the arson is planned with the intent to harm many people, the maximum penalty can be life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

The severity of punishment for arson varies depending on where the fire was set. For example, intentionally setting fire to a residence, building, train, automobile, ship, aircraft, or other inhabited structures is punishable by imprisonment for at least three years or life imprisonment.

Most importantly, because arson has a high likelihood of causing human casualties, special caution is required even if it is just "playing with fire."