South Korea army officer arrested for attempted attack on Blue House

June 4 (UPI) -- A South Korean military officer has been arrested and charged for attempting to infiltrate the presidential Blue House, the office and residence of President Moon Jae-in, in a passenger car.

The man, identified only by his surname Kim, is a 45-year-old major in South Korea's army, Newsis reported Tuesday.

The incident took place at 10:35 p.m. Monday, when Kim drove a BMW in the direction of the Spring and Autumn Hall of the Blue House. Security Guard Unit 101 of the Seoul police agency caught him and handed him over to police.

A few hours later, Kim, who had by 4:30 a.m. Tuesday been handed over to the Capital Defense Command in Seoul, escaped military detention. He was apprehended at a public restroom facility in southern Seoul three hours later, according to the report.

Military prosecutors have charged Kim with invasion, breaking into military property and fleeing authorities while under arrest.

Kim was diagnosed with a mental illness and was receiving vocational training at the time of the incident, according to reports.

The Blue House is under heavy security and historically was the target of attacks and assassination attempts.

In January 1968, North Korean commandos infiltrated the Blue House during an armed attack. They failed to assassinate South Korean President Park Chung Hee.

Park's daughter, President Park Geun-hye, remains in prison for facilitating massive corruption. Park did not enrich herself but allowed a longtime acquaintance, Choi Soon-sil, to take advantage of Park's presidential power.

The Korea Times reported Tuesday that Park and Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, also known as Jay Y. Lee, are to face the country's Supreme Court in the second half of 2019.

Different judges are in dispute over whether Lee's gift of three horses to Choi's daughter, worth about $3 million, was a bribe, according to the report.