A British man seen climbing Lotte World Tower, the tallest skyscraper in the South Korea. Photo: Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Management Headquarters/AP
A British man seen climbing Lotte World Tower, the tallest skyscraper in the South Korea. Photo: Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Management Headquarters/AP
A British man seen climbing Lotte World Tower, the tallest skyscraper in the South Korea. Photo: Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Management Headquarters/AP
A British man seen climbing Lotte World Tower, the tallest skyscraper in the South Korea. Photo: Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Management Headquarters/AP

British man detained in Seoul after climbing 73 floors of skyscraper


  • English
  • Arabic

South Korean police detained a British man in the capital Seoul on Monday after he scaled 73 floors of the country's tallest building with his bare hands.

Korean media identified the man as free climber George King-Thompson, who was imprisoned for three months after scaling London's Shard in 2019.

More than 90 police, fire and emergency personnel were sent to Lotte World Tower after he was spotted climbing the building on Monday morning, according to a statement from Seoul's fire department.

He reached the 73rd floor of the building with no equipment before being removed by a gondola lift, it said.

Local media said he was spotted scaling the building with only climbing chalk at 7.20am local time, and that he continued his climbing attempt after the arrival of firefighters at 8am. Footage posted from inside a bedroom in the building showed him as he scaled the structure.

He was arrested on charges of trespassing and obstruction of business, The Korea Herald reported. It added that he was planning to parachute from the top of the building.

The tower, the tallest in South Korea, is home to apartments, offices and various retail stores.

Lotte Property & Development, which operates the tower, said the man didn’t suffer any major injuries.

The fire agency statement said he suffered a cut on his right knee.

Mr King-Thompson also climbed London's 36-story Stratosphere Tower in 2021, reaching the top in less than half an hour.

He said he picked the Seoul building because he was shocked by the flash floods that recently hit the area and wanted to raise awareness about the seriousness of climate change.

He is not the first person to scale the Lotte World Tower.

In 2018, French climber Alain Robert, known as “Spider-Man”, was also detained after climbing to the 75th floor.

Lotte officials said they heard he was eventually released and left South Korea after they told police they did not want to press charges for obstruction or trespassing.

AFP contributed to this report

Brief scoreline:

Liverpool 2

Keita 5', Firmino 26'

Porto 0

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'The Batman'

Stars:Robert Pattinson

Director:Matt Reeves

Rating: 5/5

Ready Player One
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Kill%20Bill%20Volume%201
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Quentin%20Tarantino%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Uma%20Thurman%2C%20David%20Carradine%20and%20Michael%20Madsen%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%204.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo

Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic

Power: 242bhp

Torque: 370Nm

Price: Dh136,814

Mental%20health%20support%20in%20the%20UAE
%3Cp%3E%E2%97%8F%20Estijaba%20helpline%3A%208001717%3Cbr%3E%E2%97%8F%20UAE%20Ministry%20of%20Health%20and%20Prevention%20hotline%3A%20045192519%3Cbr%3E%E2%97%8F%20UAE%20Mental%20health%20support%20line%3A%20800%204673%20(Hope)%3Cbr%3EMore%20information%20at%20hope.hw.gov.ae%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E77kWh%202%20motors%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E178bhp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E410Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E402km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh%2C150%2C000%20(estimate)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETBC%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Updated: June 12, 2023, 4:20 PM`