Korea had cut too many corners in safety during its rapid industrialization. Several metro trains throughout the country were subsequently refurbished to improve fire-resistant standards within a few years of the accident. On August 7, the Daegu District Court convicted Choi Sang-yeol, operator of train 1080, and Choi Jeong-hwan, operator of train 1079, sentencing them to prison for five and four years respectively for criminal negligence. Kim Dae-han was convicted of arson and homicide. Although prosecutors, with the support of victims' families, had sought the death penalty, the court instead sentenced him to life imprisonment on account of his remorse and mental instability. Kim died of a chronic illness in prison on August 31, 2004, in the city of Jinju, where he had been receiving medical treatment. In December 2008, the Daegu Safety Theme Park opened. The goal was to educate the inhabitants of Daegu about safety. Investigation and cover-up Choi Sang-yeol could not be located for 10 hours after the accident, and investigators later discovered he had made contact with officials from the subway corporation during that time. The master key from train 1080 was found in an office at the Ansim train depot. Omissions from transcripts of radio communications also heightened suspicion of an attempted cover-up. See also 1995 Baku Metro fire Chengdu bus fire King's Cross Fire List of transportation fires References Further reading iCivilEngineer Engineering Failure Watch: South Korean Subway Fire Soo-Jeong. "Subway horror: Errors revealed," Associated Press. Hwang Sun-yoon. "200 dead, missing in Daegu arson," Joong-Ang Ilbo, February 19, 2003 Byun Duk-kun. "Slow Response Causes More Death," Hankook Ilbo February 18, 2003 Dozens Dead, Hundreds Injured, Missing in South Korea Subway Fire, CNN Transcript, February 18, 2003 Anger mounts over Korean fire, BBC News, February 20, 2003 Kirk, Don. "Effort to Fix Responsibility for Deadly Korean Subway Fire," The New York Times, February 21, 2003 "Fire Alarm Ignored and Not Immediately Informed," Dong-A Ilbo, February 23, 2003 Christensen, Geir. Letter to the Editor: "The Daegu Subway Fire," February 25, 2003 "Death Toll in Daegu Is Likely to Reach 200," Dong-A Ilbo, February 26, 2003 "Subway official told driver of train to leave passengers," Joong-Ang Ilbo, February 26, 2003 Choi Jie-ho. "Safety first -- and 2d, 3d, 4th . . .," Joong-Ang Ilbo, April 8, 2003 "Arsonist to serve life in Daegu subway fire, Joong-Ang Ilbo, August 7, 2003 Daegu Subway Fire photo slideshow 2003 disasters