Seoul: No explosive was found at a major department store in Seoul, according to police, as a bomb threat posted on a community website forced some 4,000 people to evacuate.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the evacuation took place following a post on the community website DC Inside, which claimed that an explosive had been placed on the first floor of the Shinsegae Department Store in Myeongdong. The threat stated that the bomb was set to detonate at 3 p.m.
Police received the bomb threat report at 1:43 p.m., approximately an hour after the message was posted online. In response, authorities evacuated everyone from the department store and cordoned off the surrounding area as a precautionary measure.
Police special forces, along with fire officials, conducted a thorough search of the premises but did not find any explosives after nearly three hours of investigation, officials confirmed.
Investigations are ongoing as police plan to track the IP address of the individual who posted the threatening message.