Suicide raises security questions

Police chief promises tightened security for government facilities after arson incident


Public security authorities came under fire after a man snuck into the office and fell to his death Sunday.

The police chief vowed on Monday to beef up security measures at government facilities. The Ministry of Public Administration and Security said it will install automatic recognition systems for all four gates of the government complex by the end of the year.

“It is unavoidable for the police to be held accountable to some extent since the incident occurred at one of the most important government facilities,” National Police Agency Commissioner General Kim Ki-yong said at a press conference.

“Since too much security could cause inconvenience, the police will work together with the Ministry of Public Administration and Security to find where we should draw the line.”

The police are in charge of security checkpoints inside and outside the government complex on weekdays, but only guard the outside checkpoints on weekends. The Ministry of Public Administration and Security take charge of security inside the government complex on weekends.

The government’s security system failed to spot the 61-year-old man as he infiltrated the building which houses eight government ministries and offices including the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Unification.

Public officials pass through electronic gates at the Central Government Complex on Monday. (Yonhap News)

The arsonist, identified by his surname Kim, passed through the rear gate outside the building by presenting a fake identity card to the police guards and went through the metal detector, which was not in operation at the time, inside the building.

Kim was hiding a paint can and flammable substances in his bag. The rear gate was guarded by two police guards; and the security checkpoint inside the building by two officials. He then went through an electric pass in the building, which was not in operation, either.

Kim then walked up to the 18th floor and entered the office of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. He stuffed the paint container with documents, poured the flammable substance on it and lit it. Two officers who were working at the office were able to escape without injury.

The fire was put out in 6 minutes after burning off the documents and chairs by an officer from a different office.

Kim reportedly jumped out of the window right after the fire and died at the scene.

Prescription drugs for depression were found in his bag.

Kim was known to have worked at a bank for 20 years before he retired in 1999. He had traded stocks for a living and suffered from depression and delusions after losing most of his money, according to the police investigation.

His son, 30, said his father had been struggling due to his failure in stock investment. Kim’s family said to the police that Kim had believed he had used to be a public officer.

He had often said he had wanted to kill himself and written suicide notes several times, the police said.

He was booked for beating his wife because of their divorce on Oct. 3.

Kim had put up posts on his blog from last December to July this year criticizing a government policy to get rid of some contents related to the theory of evolution from government textbooks, police said.

On the posts, Kim said, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology tries to change the contents due to the pressure from religious groups.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)