{"id":959443,"date":"2026-05-14T14:21:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T14:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/959443\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T14:21:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T14:21:21","slug":"korean-researcher-flown-out-of-antarctica-after-knife-incident-at-jang-bogo-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/959443\/","title":{"rendered":"Korean researcher flown out of Antarctica after knife incident at Jang Bogo Station"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Antarctic expeditioner who allegedly threatened colleagues with a large, makeshift knife has been removed from a Korean research station after an emergency evacuation.<\/p>\n

The incident occurred at the Jang Bogo Station, 2,000 kilometres south-east of Australia’s Casey Station, on April 13, according to Korean media<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CCTV footage broadcast by Korean media purportedly shows a man walking up a staircase carrying what appears to be an improvised weapon.<\/p>\n

Other footage shows expeditioners running from the station’s kitchen.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The man was isolated and eventually flown off the base three weeks later. (Supplied: JTBC News)<\/p>\n

“At approximately 7:20pm, local time, on April 13, a safety incident occurred at the Jang Bogo Science Station in Antarctica, where an overwintering research member threatened other members with a weapon,” the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) told the ABC in a statement.<\/p>\n

“Upon recognition of the situation, the station leader and officials immediately separated [the man] from the rest of the team.<\/p>\n

“The situation was expeditiously brought under control with no injuries.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The man had to be isolated from the other 17 people at the station for almost three weeks before Korean authorities were able to fly there.<\/p>\n

“To ensure the continued safety of all personnel, KOPRI decided on the immediate emergency repatriation of [the man].<\/p>\n

“Although regular flight operations had been halted due to the onset of the austral winter and deteriorating weather conditions, KOPRI successfully secured emergency transportation through international diplomatic and logistical cooperation.”<\/p>\n

\"Large,<\/p>\n

The Jang Bogo Station is a permanent, year-round South Korean research base located in Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica. (Supplied: Korean Polar Research Institute)<\/p>\n

The man was removed from the station on May 7 and was flown back to Korea on Monday.<\/p>\n

“A formal investigation is currently being conducted by the police,” KOPRI said.<\/p>\n

“Immediately following the incident, KOPRI conducted remote video consultations and professional psychological counselling for all personnel remaining at the station.<\/p>\n

“Currently, Jang Bogo Station is in normal operation.”<\/p>\n

KOPRI said it would enhance its pre-deployment training and overhaul its conflict management and incident response manuals.<\/p>\n

“KOPRI feels a heavy sense of responsibility for this incident and deeply apologises to the station members, their families, and the public.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Small incidents can quickly escalate<\/p>\n

It is not the first time threatening behaviour has occurred at isolated bases in Antarctica, where there are no police to deal with offences.<\/p>\n

Hanne Nielsen, a senior lecturer in Antarctic law and governance at the University of Tasmania, said there had been other high-profile criminal cases<\/a> on the icy continent.<\/p>\n

“Wherever you have people, you will have transgressions,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dr Nielsen said.<\/p>\n

Last year, reports emerged of an incident at South Africa’s SANAE IV that left fellow expeditioners fearing for their safety.<\/p>\n

According to South African media, the alleged victim said the accused had threatened to kill someone, “creating an environment of fear and intimidation”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

South Africa’s SANAE IV Antarctic base experienced an incident in 2025. (Supplied: South African National Antarctic Programme)<\/p>\n

The issue was reportedly resolved without the need to evacuate anyone from the remote station.<\/p>\n

In one incident in 2018, a Russian scientist was accused of stabbing a colleague in the chest<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And back in 1959, a scientist at another Russian station allegedly murdered a colleague with an ice axe<\/a> after losing a game of chess.<\/p>\n

Dr Nielsen said issues in Antarctica sometimes rapidly escalated because of the challenges of living and working in confined and remote places for long periods.<\/p>\n

“You can see small things blowing up into larger issues,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

she said.\"A<\/p>\n

Hanne Nielsen says the right mix of people is critical to extended deployments. (Supplied: UTAS)<\/p>\n

Pre-departure screening is critical<\/p>\n

Expeditioners usually undertake comprehensive psychological assessments before being allowed to join Antarctic programs.<\/p>\n

Dr Nielsen said getting the right mix of people with suitable attributes was critical to the success of extended deployments to the icy continent.<\/p>\n

“I think the question of how you deal with a crime comes back to before you even leave for the Antarctic,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Making that environment a really safe one with the people who will be working together \u2026 and recruiting the right people.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Casey<\/p>\n

Australia’s Casey Station has experienced its own challenges. (ABC News: Owain Stia-James)<\/p>\n

The culture at Australia’s Antarctic bases was put in the spotlight in 2022<\/a> after a report revealed concerns about bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment.<\/p>\n

Workplace reforms implemented in the wake of the damning report have led to some improvements, but a review has found some problems persist<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Antarctic expeditioner who allegedly threatened colleagues with a large, makeshift knife has been removed from a Korean…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":959444,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3843],"tags":[55468,45260,268028,728,268024,14965,268029,268026,35296,43313,268025,268023,529,2343,70,268030,525,16,15,268027],"class_list":{"0":"post-959443","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-antarctic","9":"tag-antarctica","10":"tag-antarctica-jobs","11":"tag-environment","12":"tag-flown-out","13":"tag-incident","14":"tag-jang-bogo","15":"tag-jang-bogo-station","16":"tag-knife","17":"tag-korea","18":"tag-korea-polar-research-institute","19":"tag-korean-researcher","20":"tag-police","21":"tag-research","22":"tag-science","23":"tag-south-african-antarctic-base","24":"tag-south-korea","25":"tag-uk","26":"tag-united-kingdom","27":"tag-working-in-antarctica"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=959443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/959444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=959443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=959443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=959443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}