A British man was arrested while climbing a skyscraper in South Korea

SEOUL (Reuters) – A British man attempted to scale the world’s fifth-tallest building without ropes on Monday until South Korean authorities forced him to give up climbing the 123-story Lotte World Tower in Seoul more than halfway.

The 24-year-old, dressed in shorts, made his way to the historic skyscraper for more than an hour while police and firefighters gathered below.

He reached the 73rd floor where authorities forced him to climb onto a maintenance cradle and enter the building, a fire official said, adding that police detained him for questioning.

[1/2] A British man climbs South Korea’s tallest building, the 123-storey Lotte World Tower, without a rope before being forced to abandon the climb more than halfway up, in Seoul, South Korea June 12, 2023. Songpa Fire Station/Handut in South Korea via Reuters

The police could not be reached for comment.

The Chosun Ilbo newspaper identified the man as George King Thompson. British media reported that he was arrested and jailed for climbing the Shard in London in 2019.

In 2018, the police arrested “French Spider-Man” Alain Robert because he was halfway up the Lotte World tower.

Reporting by Jo Min Park. Edited by Robert Purcell

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