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Drunk and quarreled with locals, two US Secret Service agents protecting President Biden were sent home

Drunk and quarreled with locals, two US agents protecting President Biden were sent home - Photo 1.

Air Force One carrying President Joe Biden landed in South Korea on May 20 while security officers cautiously watched from afar – Photo: REUTERS

According to Reuters news agency, the incident happened on May 19, right before President Biden made his first trip since taking office to South Korea.

The incident happened outside the Grand Hyatt hotel, where Mr. Biden will be staying during his visit to South Korea. The plane carrying the US president landed in Seoul on the afternoon of May 20.

Organ US Secret Service confirmed there was an “off-duty” incident involving two employees but insisted it would not affect President Biden’s visit. These two individuals were temporarily suspended and returned to the US immediately.

Earlier, according to a police official in Seoul’s Yongsan district, one of the two US Secret Service agents showed signs of being drunk and got into a fight with a Korean man in a taxi. Police later arrested one of the two Americans.

TV Chosun, the first Korean TV station to report on the incident, said the suspect was in his 30s and was arrested after a hotel guest called the police.

However, according to a US official, there are no secret agents “searching” in South Korea and asserted that local authorities are only “investigating” one of these two people.

The Secret Service is responsible for protecting the president and the White House. Members of the Secret Service often operate quietly but sometimes make noise because of scandals outside of working hours.

In 2012, 11 US Secret Service agents were sent home for alleged “misbehavior” related to prostitutes. The incident happened shortly before President Barack Obama’s visit to Colombia, according to Reuters.

South Korea is a close US ally in Northeast Asia and is home to more than 28,000 US troops.

However, President Biden has signaled that his trip to South Korea will focus more on the economic aspect.

According to Reuters, after landing at Osan Air Base south of Seoul, Biden boarded a car and drove directly to the world’s largest semiconductor factory nearby on the night of May 20.

At the Samsung factory, Mr. Biden met his Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol and toured the factory area together.

“With today’s visit, I hope that Korea-US relations will be reborn into an economic and security alliance based on high-tech and supply chain cooperation,” President Yoon said.

The White House calls the Samsung factory Biden just visited as a model for a new $17 billion factory that Samsung plans to build in Texas.

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