Ukrainian Daredevil Snaps Photo Atop Lotte World Tower

Ukrainian photographer Vitaliy Raskalov, who made a name taking pictures from high places, recently set his sights on a brand-new Korean landmark.

The result, posted online Monday, shows his feet resting on a yellow crane above the half-finished 123-story Lotte World Tower and far below the expanse of Seokchon Lake.

Raskalov pairs up with Russian Vadim Makhorov to snap selfies from the top of skyscrapers and other tall structures around the world, including the 124-foot Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Cologne Cathedral and Shanghai Tower.

Security staff at Lotte Corporation were flummoxed. The company had beefed up security after the pair posted photos of Sinchon and Mt. Nam early this month, and put up posters at the entrances to the construction site with pictures of the two daredevils. In vain.

On Tuesday, Raskalov posted another photo sitting atop Lotte World Tower and wrote that he would already have been gone by the time Lotte staff realized it.

At 555 m Lotte World Tower is the tallest building in Korea and fifth tallest in the world. The top floors offer breathtaking views not only of Seoul, but parts of neighboring Gyeonggi Province and even Seoul Airport, which is used by the president on official trips.

In November last year, Lotte Corporation became the first private business in Korea to set up its own anti-terror squad complete with bomb-sniffer dogs and stationed around 400 security guards at the tower around the clock.

But the two photographers slipped past them. Security staff scrutinized CCTV footage during the period they suspect the two went up to the top but found no leads.

"Judging by their track record, we believe they snuck into the tower at night and waited till morning before taking the photo on top of the crane," a Lotte staffer said. "We're going to have to review our security system."

Lotte is unlikely to bring charges.