Fire destroys centuries-old Seoul gate
SEOUL — Fire destroyed a 610-year-old landmark that was considered South Korea’s top national treasure, officials said today.
Police said the cause of the blaze was unclear, but one official said arson was suspected.
The fire broke out Sunday night and burned down the wooden structure at the top of Namdaemun, or “Great South Gate,” which once formed part of a wall that encircled the capital.
About 360 firefighters fought to bring the blaze under control, according to Lee Sang-joon, an official with the National Emergency Management Agency. No one was injured, he said.
Lee said that arson was suspected in the blaze. However, Kim Young-soo, head of a police station in central Seoul handling the case, said at a televised news conference that it was too early for that conclusion.
The South Korean government opened the gate, officially named Sungnyemun or “Gate of Exalted Ceremonies,” to the public in 2006 for the first time in nearly a century.
The gate had been off-limits since 1907, when Japanese colonial authorities built an electric tramway nearby.
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