 Cause of the Disaster |
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Overview of the Fire |
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Date: Feb. 10, 2008 (Sun), 20:48~02:02 (lasted for 5 hours and 17 minutes) |
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Place: 29 Namdaemun 4-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul |
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Object: Seoul Sungraemun(national treasure no. 1) |
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* Category - Architectural Relic/Politics and National Defense/Castle/Castle Facility |
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Damage |
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- Damage to life: none
- Damage to property: about 10 billion won (cost of the restoration estimated by the Ministry of National Cultural Heritage)
- Real property: 10% damage to the first floor (physical damage), 80% damage
to the second floor (loss and collapse), other ancillary facilities
* 90% of the major part of the cultural assets on the first floor was preserved.
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Cause of the fire: arson (to express dissatisfaction with the society) |
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Details of the incident:
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A taxi driver who was driving on the road by Sungraemun witnessed the smoke rising from the left side of the castle at about 20:50 on Feb. 10, 2008 (Sun). He called 119 to report the fire. It turned out that a man aged 38, dissatisfied with the compensation he received for his land, set the fire intentionally at 20:47 by climbing over the wall at the side of the castle using a ladder and then sneaking into the second floor of the castle. He put two 1.5-liter bottles of thinner on the floor of the third central column of the castle from the western gate to the eastern gate, spilled the contents of one of the bottles on the floor, and then set it on fire with a disposable lighter. He then fled. The fire had incurred property damages amounting to approximately 10 billion won before it was extinguished at 02:05.
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| General Status of the Building |
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Status of the Building |
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| How the Fire Spread |
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While the smoke caused by the initial ignition of the thinner spilt on the 2nd floor of the castle was spreading, the suspect put two pre-melted PET bottles of thinner on the floor, which caused a large amount of thinner to be discharged, a violent flame to be created, and heat to be instantaneously emitted, making the high-temperature plume spread to the ceiling very fast. |
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| Progress of the Combustion |
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- The first person who witnessed the fire reported it to the police. The police’s traffic monitor camera was able to record the smoke rising from the left side of the castle.
- White smoke was all over the castle when the firefighters arrived on the scene and while the fire was spreading. After trying to put out the fire inside the building, the firefighters attempted to destroy parts of the castle to extinguish the fire on the ceiling.
- Although the firefighters were able to extinguish the fire on the second floor of the castle, the fire continued to spread inside the ceiling, which was largely made of wood and thus did not receive a sufficient supply of oxygen.
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| Restoration of Sungraemun |
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- The restoration will be based on the detailed design drawings of Sungraemun produced in 2006, and on the Sungraemun restoration report, which was published in the 1960s, to make sure that Sungraemun would be restored to its original state.
- The building’s original materials will likewise be used for the restoration, upon consultation with the advisory committee. Moreover, the walls on the left and right side of the castle will be restored to their original shapes, which were changed during the Japanese imperial rule.
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Home > Disaster Reports > Fires > Sungnyemun
Information : Administrative Management Division / Hyun-jin Choi / 02-2100-5128