Police Apply Arrest Warrant for Teenager Involved in West District Court Disturbance... Charged with Attempted Arson

Lit Paper Thrown Into Court Building

The police have requested an arrest warrant for a suspect accused of attempting arson at the court during the Seoul Western District Court disturbance incident.

Yonhap News

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Criminal Mobile Unit announced on the 24th that they have applied for an arrest warrant for a teenage male suspect, A, on charges of trespassing in a jointly used building, obstruction of official duties by special means, and attempted arson of an inhabited building. Earlier, the police had urgently arrested A on the 22nd on charges including obstruction of official duties by special means.

According to the police, A is suspected of pouring a substance presumed to be oil over the court's glass window on the 19th, lighting a piece of paper on fire, and throwing it through the glass window. There is also footage of him holding a small yellow container and having a conversation with another man about whether "oil is coming out." The police added the charge of attempted arson to the charges applied at the time of his arrest, concluding that A attempted arson on the court building.

Previously, the Seoul Western District Court issued arrest warrants for 58 of the 90 people who were caught in flagrante delicto near the Western District Court and the Constitutional Court on the 18th and 19th. Among them were 44 individuals charged with violent acts including trespassing in a shared residence under the Act on the Punishment of Violent Crimes, who broke into the Western District Court in the early hours of the 19th and damaged property; 10 who blocked vehicles carrying prosecutors and investigators from the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (Gong-su-cheo); 1 who assaulted reporters; 1 who climbed over the court fence; and 2 who assaulted police officers.