A South Korean man set his apartment on fire before stabbing fleeing residents with a knife, killing five people and injuring 13 others.

The 42-year-old set fire to his apartment in the south-eastern city of Jinju, about 435 kilometres southeast of Seoul, at around 4:29am local time (1930 GMT Tuesday).

He then attacked residents as they attempted to flee the building, news agency Yonhap reported on Wednesday citing local police.

Five people, including a 12-year-old girl, were killed in the building’s stairwell, Yonhap added.

According to witnesses, he shouted “fire” to force neighbours out of their apartments.

The man, who was arrested at the scene after a brief confrontation with police, reportedly said he “committed the crimes out of grievances about his overdue wages”.

The fire was extinguished 20 minutes later.

Korea Times reported that the man is said to be a recipient of government support for the underprivileged.

The death toll could increase, according to the police, as some of the injured were in critical condition. </s> SEOUL (DPA) - A South Korean man set his apartment on fire before stabbing fleeing residents with a knife, killing five people and injuring 13 others, local media reported Wednesday (April 17).

The 42-year-old set fire to his apartment in the south-eastern city of Jinju before attacking residents as they attempted to flee the building, news agency Yonhap reported, citing local police.

Five people, including a 12-year-old girl, were killed in the building's stairwell, Yonhap added.

The man, who was arrested at the scene after a brief confrontation with police, reportedly said he "committed the crimes out of grievances about his overdue wages." The fire was extinguished 20 minutes later. </s> Five people were killed and more than a dozen others were injured by a South Korean man who set his apartment on fire and stabbed his neighbors as they tried to flee the flames, police said Wednesday.

Police said the 42-year-old started the fire in the early hours of Wednesday morning in the southern city of Jinju, and waited on the second floor of the building to attack people running downstairs from the blaze.

The youngest of the five victims stabbed to death was a 12-year-old girl.

An unnamed resident told Yonhap news agency that he initially tried to leave the building after hearing the fire alarm but went back to his apartment after seeing "lots of blood" in the hall.

"I heard he was holding knives in both hands," the neighbor said.

The arsonist, who was detained at the scene, told police he committed the crime to defend against "maligning forces."
Subsequent riots in Seoul kill at least three people.