A foreign tourist who started a fire in Seoul Forest, a major park and tourist attraction in eastern Seoul, has been sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for one year, by a local court in a recent ruling.
The Seoul Eastern District Court found the Russian woman in her 20s guilty of violating Article 167 of the Criminal Act, setting fire to general goods, which is punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 7 million won ($4,900).
A Russian man in his 30s was also apprehended and investigated as an accomplice in starting the fire.
The pair was accused of lighting pollen on fire at around 4 p.m. on June 11, while intoxicated. The court determined the woman had started the fire.
The two tried to stomp out the fire for about 30 seconds, but soon fled. The defendant told investigators that they started the fire out of curiosity.
The fire forced the evacuation of nearby schools and burned about 500 square meters of the forest, but did not lead to any casualties.
The court said the defendant was aware that pollen could catch fire, having seen it before in Russia, and her actions constituted arson. It pointed out that defendant did not take any measure to prevent damage, such as calling the fire department, though she was aware of the danger of the fire spreading.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
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