South Korea’s Korea Polar Research Institute says a member of the country’s Antarctic overwintering team at Jang Bogo Station threatened fellow crew members with a blade in mid-April. The incident occurred on April 13, according to the institute, which says no injuries were reported. Reports describe the suspect as a crew member who produced a roughly 30-centimeter blade from a steel sheet in the station workshop. Station officials separated the person from the group after the threat and continued operations without reported harm.
The suspect later left Antarctica and returned to South Korea, with international coordination arranged for transport during the winter period, when air travel is largely limited. After arriving in South Korea on Monday, he was placed under police investigation. One outlet reports that media identified the person as a man in his 50s with a prior record of misconduct and tensions with colleagues, while the institute did not disclose his identity publicly.
Jang Bogo Station, established in 2014 on Terra Nova Bay in Victoria Land, is South Korea’s second Antarctic base and its first on the Antarctic mainland.
