World-renowned French climber Alain Robert climbs the outer wall of Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul on June 6, 2018. (image: Songpa Fire Station)
SEOUL, Jun. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — World-renowned French climber Alain Robert was arrested for scaling a skyscraper in southern Seoul without permission Wednesday, police said.
The 55-year-old known as the “French Spider-Man” for his gravity-defying climbing skills was caught on the rooftop of the 125th floor of Lotte World Tower at about 11:35 a.m.
Robert was specifically charged with obstruction of business for climbing to the 75th floor of the skyscraper without seeking any prior consent from Lotte Property and Development Co., the building’s operator, according to the police.
Upon reaching the floor about two hours after he began scaling the tower at about 7:50 a.m., he was transported to the top aboard a building management utility on standby by the company.
“I had this event to celebrate the quickly improving ties between South and North Korea,” the company quoted the man as saying.
“Robert was not wearing proper safety gear,” police said. “We’ll decide how to handle him after investigating his motive for the crime and other details.”
The French climber rose to international fame when he scaled the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, in six hours in 2011. He has been arrested for climbing skyscrapers without permission in such big cities as Sydney, London, Sao Paulo, Chicago and Kuala Lumpur.
(Yonhap)
