[Dashboard camera footage provided by police]
SEOUL -- In an indefinable commuting time incident, a South Korean government official tried to ram through the fortified gate of the U.S. embassy with a car, arguing he was seeking asylum.
The dashboard camera footage from a nearby car showed the man swerving his sedan suddenly off the crowded street and ramming the iron gate of the U.S. embassy in central Seoul at 7:22 p.m. (2222 GMT) Thursday. The man identified by his surname Yoon, a 47-year-old official at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF), was arrested by police.
Yoon's car was badly damaged and the embassy's steel gate was bent inwards. The embassy is heavily guarded by police, but the sudden act caused no injuries. Police dragged him out of the car, but he kept shouting "Help me!" in English.
At a police station, Yoon allegedly told investigators that he had tried to seek asylum for reasons related to North Korea, but he said later that he has received psychiatric treatment with hyper-paranoia.
A female rider who owned the car was carried to a nearby hospital after she complained of pains in her body. The woman was identified as a MOGEF legal adviser.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
