Police arrest man for climbing Seoul building

A British man was arrested in South Korea on Monday after he attempted to climb Lotte World Tower, the country´s tallest skyscraper — the fifth highest in the world — without equipment, police said.

The man was scaling the 123-story Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul early Monday when staff spotted him, forcing him to stop his ascent as he reached the 73rd floor.

"Lotte staff had to go on a gondola lift to persuade him to stop when he was still climbing above the building´s 70th floor," said an official from the National Police Agency.

"He finally gave in, and we arrested him at the scene for obstruction of official business. He is currently being questioned at a police station in Seoul´s Songpa district."

The 555-metre (1,820-foot) Lotte World Tower is the world´s fifth-tallest building.

Alain Robert, widely known as the "French Spider-Man," was jailed in 2018 after climbing the same building without permission. He ascended to the 75th floor.

Local media, including the newspaper Chosun Ilbo, have identified the British man in custody as George King-Thompson.

The Daily Mail reported in 2021 that King-Thompson had been jailed for attempting to scale the Shard, a 72-story skyscraper in London.