Korea's 'Die Hard cop' reported on CNN

By Kim Bo-eun

A Busan-based police officer who recently apprehended a drug trafficker in the city after clinging onto the windshield of the suspect’s fleeing vehicle for 25 minutes was featured on CNN, Tuesday.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said Wednesday the U.S. cable news channel had reported the “Die Hard cop” Kim Hyun-chul on its “News Stream” program, Tuesday night.

The two-minute clip included video footage as well as an interview with the 34-year-old officer.

The policeman instantly gained fame through the 10-second video, which was uploaded on the day of the incident, as it quickly spread, attracting attention from domestic media.

Last Friday, CNN requested a copy of the video and the police agency provided footage that had been taken by a surveillance camera installed in a taxi that was at the scene as well as of the apprehension inside a nearby subway station.

On Aug. 26, Kim had jumped onto the suspect’s car in Yeonsan-dong, central Busan, when the driver refused to stop, and held on for 25 minutes while the vehicle zig-zagged some 15 kilometers, deliberately bumping into other cars to shake him off.

When the driver stopped and fled into a nearby subway station, Kim jumped off and chased him, finally apprehending the offender.

The video of Kim, which had initially been posted with a Korean title, was uploaded again the following day with the English title “Korean police spiderman arrested drug offender” and it currently has had some 690,000 hits.

Kim was promoted to assistant inspector Aug. 31.

Based at Busan Yeonje Police Station, he has worked on a special weapons and tactics team for six years and is an expert in martial arts.