Train operations on Seoul Metro Line 5 were resumed following a fire caused by arson on the 31st.
Seoul Transportation Corporation noted that around 10:06 a.m. that day, "the fire restoration between Yeoinaru Station and Mapo Station has been completed, and train operations on the entire line will resume."
To prevent similar incidents such as copycat crimes, Seoul Transportation Corporation plans to strengthen special security operations in cooperation with police and relevant agencies at all stations and trains under its jurisdiction until June 3.
Earlier, around 8:47 a.m. that day, a fire broke out inside a train traveling between Yeoinaru Station and Mapo Station on the way to Hanam/Macheon on Line 5. The train driver and some passengers managed to extinguish the large fire with a fire extinguisher, and the fire was completely extinguished around 10:24 a.m. A total of 230 personnel, including 166 firefighters and 60 police officers, as well as 68 firefighting equipment were deployed to the scene.
According to police and witnesses, a man in his 60s boarded the train holding a canister of fuel and allegedly set the fire using a lighter torch. The man fled the scene but was apprehended by the police at Yeoinaru Station.
More than 400 passengers evacuated through the tunnel, with 21 of them being transported to the hospital for smoke inhalation and ankle fractures.
Police plan to investigate the cause of the arson in addition to conducting a site inspection.