Accusations have been raised that firefighters and the Cultural Heritage Administration reacted passively and unskillfully to the Sungnyemun fire.

Firefighting authorities and the Cultural Heritage Administration said Monday that they decided 50 minutes after the fire broke out to disassemble parts of the gate. It wasn't until midnight, almost three hours later, that they tried to remove the roof of the gate only after most of its second floor had already burned.

Related authorities are said to have had difficulty controlling the blaze as they did not have enough information about the gate's complex structure.

They also were found to have mistakenly concluded that the fire was put out 40 minutes after it broke out.

Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will work with the Cultural Heritage Administration to swiftly investigate the fire. It added that the city will exert its best efforts on the matter.