(3rd LD) Seoul buildings-fire

▲ Firefighters inspect the site of a fire that ravaged a building in southern Seoul on Oct. 20, 2026. (Yonhap)

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with details; CHANGES headline, lead)

SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- Police on Tuesday apprehended a man in connection with suspected arson at two buildings in southern Seoul that left 19 people injured, officials said.

The man in his 70s is accused of starting a fire on the third floor of a building in Seoul's southern ward of Gangnam at 11:54 a.m. before starting another fire on the fourth floor of a nearby building at 12:01 p.m.

The fire at the first building forced some 60 people to evacuate and left 11 injured, including one in a state of cardiac arrest. Firefighters extinguished the blaze at 2:20 p.m.

The fire at the second building left eight people injured before it was extinguished at 12:35 p.m.

Police took the suspect into custody near Dongmyo Station in central Seoul at 4:16 p.m. after he went on the run by taking the subway.

A police official declined to provide details as an investigation is ongoing.

Authorities dispatched 115 firefighters to put out the fires after receiving a report that someone had started a fire.

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