S. Koreans rap delays in probe of subway fire

DAEGU, South Korea -- A man accused of igniting the fire that engulfed two South Korean subway trains and killed at least 125 people was attempting to commit suicide, police said Wednesday.

The suspect, Kim Dae-han, 56, has a history of mental illness and has told police that "he decided to die with others in a crowded place, rather than die by himself," said Police Lieutenant Cho Doo- won.

The disclosure of a possible motive in Tuesday's attack came as criticism of the official response to the tragedy mounted. Grieving relatives of victims complained of delays in body identification, and critics said the attack showed flaws in security measures.

"The government is not hurrying up with the investigation," Kang Mee-ja, whose mother died in the attack, cried as she and other family members on Wednesday looked on the remains of burned subway cars. "As her daughter, I just want to bury her quickly."

Investigators on Wednesday were still gauging the human toll of the blaze in Daegu, 200 miles southeast of Seoul. Only 44 of the dead had been identified, and officials feared that more of the 145 hurt could still die of their injuries.

Authorities counted 314 people as still reported missing, but they said the number was greatly inflated by double reports and the enduring confusion over the identities of the dead.

Attention on Wednesday focused on the actions of subway officials, who were being interrogated by police. Many asked why a second train was permitted to arrive at the station minutes after the first train erupted in flames.

One officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the fire crippled the subway communication system, and authorities apparently could not warn the second train -- on which many of the deaths took place.

Critics said the tragedy revealed holes in the nation's emergency response system and a potential vulnerability to terrorist attacks.

"We call for a thorough investigation of whether subway authorities failed to respond quickly and properly when the fire first broke out," the Joongang Ilbo newspaper said, urging the government to tighten security in the subway system.

The system carries 6.5 million passengers a day.

Subway officials in Seoul, the capital, said on Wednesday that they would install emergency lighting, increase the number of exit signs, make car interiors flame resistant and heighten security in the wake of Tuesday's accident.

President Kim Dae-jung designated Daegu a "special disaster area" on Wednesday, giving tax breaks and financial assistance to victims and businesses hurt by the attack.

But as forensic experts began the grim task of gathering scorched bodies and blackened bones for identification, sobbing family members of the victims complained of delays and scuffled with police as Prime Minister Kim Suk-soo visited the blaze site.

Family members of the missing were permitted to look at the wreckage, which had been towed to a train depot on the outskirts of Daegu. Near the attack site, others piled bouquets of funeral chrysanthemums on a makeshift shrine being built to the victims.

Teams made a final search for survivors in the subway station where the attack happened.

"Because people could have hidden to escape the smoke, last night we did a final search but we have found nothing," Daegu Mayor Cho Hae- nyoung told reporters early Wednesday.

By late Wednesday, the provisional death toll was 125 -- 53 confirmed dead and an estimated 72 bodies found on one of the destroyed trains.

Firefighters said many bodies were found on the subway stairs, where people apparently suffocated as they tried to escape. On the platform and in the trains were the ashen bones of those trapped in the flames.

Witnesses said Kim Dae-han, 56, boarded the train with a carton of flammable liquid and used a cigarette lighter to light it. Some passengers tried in vain to stop him.

Kim was hospitalized with light burns. He worked as truck driver and had once threatened to burn down the hospital where he had received unsatisfactory treatment, local media reported, quoting relatives.

Chung Sun-kyun, a spokesman for President-elect Roh Moo-hyun's transition committee, said that Roh had canceled a town hall meeting scheduled for Thursday, and would also curtail the celebrations as part of his inauguration next week in deference to mourners.

In the meantime, the relatives of victims struggled to come to terms with their grief.

Jung In-ho said his 21-year-old daughter called her mother in a panic as the fire spread through the train and the cars filled with deadly smoke. He held up his cell phone on Wednesday, saying he still calls his daughter's number even though he knows she's gone.

"I feel like she's going to pick up the phone any minute," he said.

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