The Identity of the 'Spider-Man' Climbing the World's Tallest Buildings Barehanded

Another 'Barehand Climb' at Lotte World Tower, Rescued from 73rd Floor
Climbing for Parachute Gliding from Building Top and Cliff

A British man was arrested for illegally climbing the outer wall of Lotte World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul, bringing renewed attention to 'Spider-Men' who climb skyscrapers around the world with their bare hands.

According to the Songpa Fire Station in Seoul on the 12th, at around 9:02 a.m., British national George King-Thompson (24), who was climbing Lotte World Tower with his bare hands, was rescued from the 73rd floor.

The fire department handed King-Thompson over to the police after the rescue. The police arrested King-Thompson on the spot on charges of trespassing and obstruction of business.

According to the police, he was investigated to have climbed the building for the purpose of 'BASE jumping,' which involves parachuting from building tops or cliffs. King-Thompson reportedly stated, "It has been a long-time dream to fly after climbing Lotte World Tower, and I have been planning it for six months."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

828m Burj Khalifa Bare-Hand Climb...Skyscrapers Around the World as 'Conquest Targets'

It is not the first time that climbers known as 'Spider-Men' have been caught illegally climbing Lotte World Tower. Lotte World Tower is the 5th tallest building in the world, standing at 123 floors and 555 meters. As one of the tallest skyscrapers globally, it is highly sought after as a conquest target by building climbers.

In 2018, Alain Robert, a free climber known as the 'French Spider-Man,' was also arrested for climbing this building without permission. Robert explained his risky behavior at the time by saying, "It was to commemorate the recently improving inter-Korean relations."

'Spider-Man' climbs also occur on overseas supertall buildings. Robert has climbed over 150 buildings worldwide, including the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa (828m) in Dubai, UAE, Taipei 101 (508m) in Taiwan, the Eiffel Tower (300m) in Paris, France, the Cheung Kong Center (283m) in Hong Kong, and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (202m) in the UAE.

French high-rise climber Alain Robert is climbing the TotalEnergies building in La D?fense near Paris in September 2022. Photo by Reuters·Yonhap News

He continued climbing skyscrapers even at the age of 60. Last year, to celebrate his 60th birthday, Robert climbed the 48-floor 'Tour TotalEnergies' building (187m) in Paris with his bare hands. Robert said, "I want to send the message that 60 years old is nothing," adding, "You can actively enjoy sports and accomplish incredible things even at this age."

The Shard, the tallest building in Western Europe, has also become a conquest target. In September last year, British free climber Adam Rockwood climbed to the top of this 72-floor building with his bare hands and no safety equipment, and even posted proof on his Facebook.

Rockwood also climbed the tallest crane in Dubai, which is 390 meters high. 390 meters is taller than a 130-floor apartment building. At the time, he said, "Climbing Dubai's tallest crane was special. The risk of falling and the legal responsibility if caught were worth taking," adding, "When you stop at that height, your mind goes blank, your heart calms, and you feel a surreal sensation."

However, climbing skyscrapers without at least minimal safety equipment such as ropes is extremely dangerous. There have been cases of death from falls while climbing skyscrapers with bare hands. In 2017, a building climber famous for 'rooftopping' in China died after falling from a 62-floor building.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong at the time, Wu Yongning, who had over one million followers, was reportedly attempting to climb a 62-floor building in Changsha for a prize worth 100,000 yuan (about 18 million KRW) when the accident occurred.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.