Case suspended against Wausau woman accused in Riverview Towers fire

The criminal case involving a woman accused of intentionally setting a fire in a Wausau apartment complex that houses nearly 150 people has been suspended due to competency concerns, court records show.

Myong Hui Kim, 62, faces arson charges filed in April 2023 in Marathon County Circuit Court. Police and fire officials say Kim started at least two fires in the unit as a way of “ending it all.” The fire was reported March 21, 2023 at Riverview Towers 500 Grand Ave., Wausau.

Kim, who lived at Riverview Towers at the time of the fire, allegedly denied trying to harm her neighbors in the complex, but investigators say she lit paper on fire, walked the burning paper over to the pantry area and held the paper to a curtain to start the fire. A second fire was set in the bedroom closet.

Fire crews were called to the complex for a report of a blaze in a seventh-floor apartment. A man who was first on scene entered Kim’s apartment after seeing a glow inside the crack of the door and used a fire extinguisher before pulling Kim from beneath the covers in her bedroom.

The apartment was equipped with a sprinkler system that turned on after the fire began to spread.

“This was a reckless and uncontrolled behavior with no backup or safety plan if the burn were to get out of control in this very populated building,” the reporting officer wrote.

During a competency hearing in November, Circuit Judge Greg Strasser reviewed a psychologist’s report and declared Kim not competent at that time. But then, Kim’ medical provider believes her condition was likely to improve and she would be restored to competency.

That hasn’t happened, according to court documents. In June, the judge heard testimony that Kim is unlikely to regain competency, and a prosecutor did not object to the finding.

Now, the case has been administratively suspended. Kim continues to receive mental health treatment.