12-6-2023 (SEOUL) A daring British man made an audacious attempt to ascend the world’s fifth tallest building without the aid of ropes on Monday. However, his ambitious climb was thwarted by South Korean authorities when they forced him to abandon his venture, leaving him stranded more than halfway up the 123-storey Lotte World Tower in Seoul.
The 24-year-old man, sporting shorts, embarked on his vertical journey up the iconic skyscraper, captivating onlookers and drawing the attention of both police and fire crews, who gathered below to monitor the perilous feat.
After scaling the towering structure for over an hour, the climber managed to reach the 73rd floor. At that point, authorities intervened and compelled him to enter a maintenance cradle and make his way inside the building, according to a statement from a fire department official. Subsequently, the police took the man into custody for questioning.
At the time of writing, the police were not immediately available for comment on the incident.
According to the Chosun Ilbo newspaper, the man has been identified as George King-Thompson. British media outlets have also reported his arrest and subsequent imprisonment for scaling the Shard building in London back in 2019.
This is not the first time such an audacious attempt has taken place at the Lotte World Tower. In 2018, the infamous “French Spiderman” Alain Robert was arrested by the police when he had already ascended over halfway up the towering structure.
