Five people, including a 12-year-old girl, were killed in the building, with 13 others wounded by the 42 year old.

A South Korean man set his apartment on fire before stabbing fleeing residents with a knife, killing five people and injuring 13 others.

The 42 year old set fire to his apartment in the southeastern city of Jinju, about 435 kilometres southeast of Seoul, at around 4:29am local time on Tuesday (19:30 GMT).

He then attacked residents as they attempted to flee the building, news agency Yonhap reported on Wednesday citing local police.

Five people, including a 12-year-old girl, were killed in the building’s stairwell, Yonhap added.

According to witnesses, he shouted “fire” to force neighbours out of their apartments.

The man, who was arrested at the scene after a brief confrontation with police, reportedly said he “committed the crimes out of grievances about his overdue wages”.

The fire was extinguished 20 minutes later.

Korea Times reported that the man is said to be a recipient of government support for the underprivileged.

The death toll could increase, according to the police, as some of the injured were in critical condition.