British man detained climbing South Korean skyscraper

A British man attempted to scale the world's fifth tallest building without ropes on Monday until South Korean authorities forced him to abandon his climb more than half way up the 123-storey Lotte World Tower in Seoul.

The 24-year-old man, wearing shorts, made his way up the landmark skyscraper for more than an hour as police and fire crews gathered below.

He reached the 73rd floor where authorities forced him to get into a maintenance cradle and enter the building, a fire department official said, adding that police took him into custody for questioning.

Police were not immediately available for comment.

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

In 2018, police arrested "French Spiderman" Alain Robert as he was more than half-way up the Lotte World Tower.