On February 18, 2003, an arsonist set fire to a Daegu Metro subway train as it arrived at Jungangno station in central Daegu, South Korea. The resulting blaze, which spread when a second train stopped at the same station, killed 192 people and injured another 151. It remains the deadliest loss of life in a single deliberate incident in South Korean peacetime history, surpassing the 1982 shooting rampage committed by Woo Bum-kon.

Daegu Metro is a metro system that serves primarily the South Korean city of Daegu, operated by Daegu Transportation Corporation from 5:30AM to 0:00AM with the interval from 5 to 8 minutes between each car's arrival. With the fastest track speed at 80 km/h (50 mph), it takes 55 minutes for Line 1 and Line 2, and 48 minutes for Line 3 to reach the terminus station. As of 2015, the number of average daily passengers is 186,992 people for Line 1, 177,984 people for Line 2, and 69,127 people for Line 3.