Maborted mission. Sent to South Korea to prepare for Joe Biden’s visit and ensure his safety, American secret service employees have caused trouble in Seoul. After their day’s work in the capital, two special agents could not resist the temptation to go on a pub crawl on Thursday evening, reveals the BBC, Friday May 20. The nocturnal getaway turned into a diplomatic incident after an altercation with a local taxi driver, who was driving the drunk duo back to the Grand Hyatt hotel. In an attempt to put an end to the fight while waiting for the intervention of the police, members of the security service of the hotel establishment and two onlookers intervened.
The two men, closer to Johnny English than to James Bond, were not arrested by Korean law enforcement. The driver taken to task did not file any complaint against them and the reason for the scuffle was not revealed. However, the federal agency has been made aware of “an off-duty incident involving two employees which could constitute potential violations of its policy”, announced Anthony Guglielmi, spokesperson for the American secret services, in a press release. An hour before the US President’s official arrival in the Land of the Morning Calm on Friday afternoon, the pair of staff were sent back to the United States.
A “compulsory leave”
The spokesperson for the American secret services specified that the two men had been “put on statutory leave”. The administration also indicates to open an investigation to find out whether or not they were intoxicated at the time of the decried facts. The absence of the duo should in no way affect the four-day trip through Asia, started by Joe Biden.
