British climber summarily indicted for ascending Lotte World Tower
British climber summarily indicted for ascending Lotte World Tower Image Credit: Instagram/@shardclimber and Yonhap Agency (right)

Prosecutors in Seoul, South Korea, have summarily indicted a British free climber on charges of climbing up to the 72nd floor of the tallest skyscraper in the capital city, without permission last month.

According to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, legal sources on Tuesday, July 11, said the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office has summarily indicted the man identified as George King-Thompson, seeking a punishment of 5 million won (Dh14,374) in fines for obstructing business.

The 24-year-old was taken into custody while climbing up the outer wall of the 123-story Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul with his bare hands on June 12, before he was escorted inside the building and captured by police.

King-Thompson, known for carrying out dangerous stunts and publicising them on social media, was also jailed previously after free-climbing the Shard in London. His Instagram handle @shardclimber, boasts of this ascent. 

Seoul Police initially detained him on charges of trespassing, but they forwarded the case to the prosecution on charges of business obstruction, as he technically did not enter the building.

According to the Yonhap report, King-Thompson began his ascent up the 123-story Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul at around 5am, before a security guard found him around 7.50am and called the police, saying a foreigner, only in his underwear, was climbing up the outer wall of the building.

Police and rescue workers detained him by escorting him inside the building after he reached the 72nd story of the world's fifth-tallest tower at 8.47am, the report added.

King-Thompson reportedly told the police that he landed in Korea three days before the climb for the purpose of base jumping, a recreational sport of jumping from high points, like the top of a building, and using a parachute to descend safely to the ground.

He said that he had started planning the ascent six months ago.

In 2018, a French climber Alain Robert, also known as the ‘French Spider-Man’, was similarly arrested for climbing Lotte World Tower without approval. At that time, he climbed up to the 75th floor.