The 2008 Namdaemun fire was a fire set by Korean citizen and arsonist Chae Jong-gi (Hangul

Hangul

Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...

: 채종기) that occurred on the Namdaemun, one of the most historically significant gates in Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, and the first of Korea's National Treasures

National treasures of South Korea

The National Treasures of Korea are a numbered set of tangible treasures, artifacts, sites, and buildings which are recognized by South Korea as having exceptional artistic, cultural and historical value...

, on the date of February 10, 2008. The fire caused severe damage to the structure.

The fire

At approximately 8:50 p.m. on Sunday, February 10, 2008, a fire broke out and severely damaged the wooden structure at the top of the gate. By late Sunday night, firefighters said they believed that they had contained the fire. Firefighters were instructed by officials not to be aggressive in fighting the fire out of fear that the structure would be damaged by the effort itself.

The fire roared out of control again after midnight and destroyed the structure, despite the effort of more than 360 firefighters. There were no injuries reported.

The fire itself was set when Chae Jong-gi arrived at Namdaemun around 8:35 p.m. on Sunday carrying an aluminum ladder, three 1.5 liter bottles of paint thinner, and two cigarette lighters. He climbed up the western wall of the gate with the ladder, used the ladder to enter the tower, and walked up to the second floor. Chae sprinkled the floor with the paint thinner and lit the fire.

Arsonist

The cause was originally suspected as accidental; however, many witnesses reported seeing a suspicious man shortly before the fire, and two disposable lighters were found where the fire was believed to have started.

A 69-year-old man identified as Chae Jong-gi was arrested on suspicion of arson

Arson

Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...

 and then later confessed to the crime 30 minutes after his arrest. A police captain reported that Mr. Chae sprayed paint thinner on the floor of the structure and then set fire to it. Police say that Mr. Chae was upset about not having been paid in full for land he had sold to developers. The same man had been charged with setting a fire at Changgyeong Palace in Seoul in 2006.

The reason that he targeted Namdaemun was because it was easily accessible and had just one security measure, namely motion sensor detectors. He also considered attacking trains or buses, but decided not to due to the high casualties that would follow.

Aftermath

South Korean newspapers blamed the government for not enacting stronger security measures.

The Cultural Heritage Administration

Cultural Heritage Administration

The Cultural Heritage Administration or CHA, formerly the Cultural Properties Administration, is an agency of the South Korean government charged with preserving key aspects of the Korean cultural heritage. It is headquartered in the city of Daejeon at the Daejeon Government Complex...

 of South Korea said that it would take three years and $21 million to rebuild and restore the historic gate. 182 pages of blueprints for the gate were made in 2006 as a contingency against any emergencies which may damage the structure, making reconstruction possible.

President Lee Myung-bak

Lee Myung-bak

Lee Myung-bak is the President of South Korea. Prior to his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction and the mayor of Seoul. He is married to Kim Yoon-ok and has three daughters and one son. His older brother is Lee Sang-deuk, a South Korean politician. He attends the...

 proposed starting a private donation campaign to finance the restoration of the structure. Many people felt that the government should pay for the restoration because it had failed to adequately protect the structure. Lee's transitional committee clarified the president-elect's comments by saying that the government should still pay for the majority of the restoration.

External links

• Pictures published by BBC
• Fire ravages South Korea landmark BBC
  BBC
  The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
  
  , February 11, 2008
• Arrest In Burning Of S. Korean Landmark CBS
  CBS
  CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
  
  , February 12, 2008
• Arson suspected as blaze destroys South Korea's top cultural monument The Times
  The Times
  The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
  
  , February 11, 2008
• Suspect held after blaze guts South Korean landmark The Times
  The Times
  The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
  
  , February 12, 2008