Samsung office evacuated after bomb threat

A police bomb squad searches Samsung Life building in Seocho-dong, Seoul, after the company received a bomb threat Friday. / Korea Times file

By Lee Han-soo

The bomb threat, which led to the evacuation of about 3,000 staff from the Samsung Life building in southern Seoul Friday, turned out to be false.

There were no reports of injuries or property damage and the police have started their investigation to track down the source of the false report.

Initially, The Samsung Life building received the threat at around 11:30 a.m. The building is one of three Samsung buildings at the site, with the other two occupied by Samsung Electronics and Samsung C&T.

A Busan resident surnamed Shin reported the bomb threat.

Shin reported to the police that one of his friends received a text message in English, which allegedly implied that two North Koreans were preparing to plant a bomb inside Samsung Life building.

The report caused the police to evacuate the 34-story building and initiate a full-scale search for the bomb.

The police bomb disposal unit alongside the military searched the building for two hours but failed to find any explosives, according to Seocho Police Station.