|
|
|
Investigators raid security company over historic gate fire
SEOUL, Feb. 15 (Yonhap) -- Investigators on Friday raided a local security company for failing to prevent the arson attack that destroyed Sunggnyemun, a 610-year-old historic gate and South Korea's national treasure No. 1, police said.
The agents searched KT Telecop's head office in western Seoul, officers at the Namdaemun Police Station said. The company has provided unmanned security services for the gate with an intrusion detection system and surveillance cameras under a contract with the government since January.
The two-tiered, colorful wooden structure atop a stone base burned down early Monday after being set ablaze with paint thinner and cigarette lighter by a 70-year old man.
The suspect, who confessed to the arson attack Wednesday, said a grudge against authorities drove him to commit the crime after he was not properly compensated by developers for a plot of rural land he owned, and his appeals went unheeded by the government. Police arrested him at his home.
Debate has continued over why authorities failed to contain the fire on the well-known artifact at the very center of Seoul. Koreans have expressed anger and dismay at the loss of their historic landmark that fell to an arson attack after surviving a series of Korea's historic tribulations, including the 1950-53 Korean War.
The cultural agency expects that rebuilding the gate will take three years. At issue is whether it can find enough pine trees over one meter in diameter for its construction, such as the ones that were used to build Sungnyemun in 1396.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
|
| |
|
|
Home
