The Daegu subway fire occurred on February 18, 2003, when an arsonist set fire to a train; 192 people died and 151 others were injured at the Jungangno station of the Daegu Metropolitan Subway in Daegu, South Korea. The fire had spread across two trains within minutes. It remains the deadliest deliberate loss of life in a single incident in South Korean peacetime history, succeeding the previous record set by a 1982 mass shooting. Arsonist The arsonist, Kim Dae-han (Hangul: ; Hanja: ), was a 56-year-old unemployed former taxi driver who had suffered a stroke in November 2001 that left him partly paralyzed. Kim was dissatisfied with his medical treatment and had expressed sentiments of violence and depression; he later told police he wanted to kill himself, but to do so in a crowded place rather than alone. By most accounts, on the morning of February 18, he boarded train 1079 on Line 1 in the direction of Daegok Station, carrying a duffel bag that contained two green milk cartons filled with a flammable liquid, possibly paint thinner or gasoline. Arson As the train left Banwoldang station around 9:53 a.m., Kim began fumbling with the cartons and a cigarette lighter, alarming other passengers who tried to stop him. In the struggle, one of the cartons spilled and its liquid contents caught fire as the train pulled into Jungangno station in downtown Daegu. Kim, his back and legs on fire, managed to escape along with many passengers on train 1079, but within two minutes the fire had spread to all six cars. The fire spread quickly in the insulation between the layers of aluminum that form the shell of the cars, the vinyl and plastic materials in seat cushions and strap handles, and heavy plastic matting on the floors, producing thick smoke as it burned. Errors compounding the disaster The operator of the train, Choi Jeong-hwan (Hangul: ; Hanja: ; aged 31), failed to notify subway officials immediately of the fire. Smoke being visible on their closed-circuit television monitors, subway officials radioed the operator of train 1080, Choi Sang-yeol (Hangul: ; Hanja: ), advising him to proceed with caution because there was a fire in the station. Train 1080 entered Jungangno station and stopped alongside blazing train 1079 approximately four minutes later. The doors opened only briefly, then shut, apparently in an effort to keep out the toxic smoke that had