SEOUL: A British man was taken into custody Monday after reaching the 72nd floor of South Korea’s tallest skyscraper in Seoul by climbing up the outside with his bare hands, reported Yonhap news agency.
The 24-year-old man began his ascent up the 123-story Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul at around 5 am without any gear before security guards found him around 7.50 am and called the police, saying a foreigner, only in his underwear, was climbing up the outer wall of the building.
Police and rescue workers arrived at the scene at 8.03 am and installed a safety air mat to prepare for a possible fall.
The man kept on climbing and reached the 72nd story of the 555-meter-high, 123-story building, the world’s fifth tallest, at 8.52 am.
The man was then allowed to ride a gondola lift to the top of the building and came down at 9 am.
Police booked the man on charges of trespassing and are looking into his motives.
Meanwhile, world-renowned climber Alain Robert, also known as the “French Spider-Man,” was arrested in 2018 for climbing the same tower without approval. At that time, he climbed up to the 75th floor. – BERNAMA-YONHAP
