According to the Yangcheon Police Station on Sunday, Cho and other workers were waterproofing the roof of the rink with flammable materials, although none had fire safety training. Cho smoked a cigarette while on the roof and accidentally ignited his gloves. He managed to put out the flames with his hands, but when he left for lunch the fire reignited and spread across the roof.

Smoke rises from the roof of an ice rink in Mok-dong, Seoul, which was set ablaze on Friday afternoon.

The fire destroyed about 500 sq.m. of the 3,000 sq.m. roof and prompted the evacuation of 260 people including 150 students in the rink. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in 21 minutes, but the "Hyundai Card Super Match V-07 Superstars on Ice" show slated for 7:30 Friday evening had to be canceled.

Kim Yu-na was to perform in the show with other leading skating stars including Japan's Miki Ando and Switzerland's Stephane Lambiel.

Police have applied for an arrest warrant for Cho, as well as Cho's boss, Kim, 46, on charges of neglecting worker safety training.

Many other construction sites besides Mokdong Ice Rink are exposed to fire hazards because of slack supervision while flammable materials are being used, officials said.

(englishnews@chosun.com )