Man in South Korea hanging on to moving bullet train questions staff: 'Why didn't you stop it?'

A man who missed his train in South Korea was seen hanging on to it as it departed. 

The viral video showing a man, who looks to be a foreigner, holding onto a departing bullet train at Gwangmyeong Station in Gyeonggi province was posted on YouTube by user Bugae1. 

The video was recorded last Friday (Dec 15), The Korea Herald reported. 

In the video, a train station employee is seen running alongside the man while yelling at him to get off in Korean.

The man refused to get off the train and retorted in English: "You saw me opening the door! Why didn't you stop it (the train)?" 

He added that he had a ticket, and asked the staff to open the door for him to board the train. 

The train was brought to a stop and the man got off and started walking away with the station employee following behind, The Korea Times stated.

The employee reportedly told the man: "I announced several times that the doors were closing, and to board the train." 

This incident caused a temporary delay to the station's operations, reported The Korea Herald. 

The passenger was later allowed to board the same train and alighted at Gwangju Songjeong Station, where he was handed over to train police and fined for violating train safety rules.

"The passenger appeared to have arrived at the train station late. But, we can't wait for every single passenger. What he did was extremely dangerous," said an official from Korail, the company which operates the train to The Korea Times. 

South Korea's Railway Safety Act states that no one should engage in conduct that could hinder the operation of the train without good cause.

Offenders can be fined up to 5 million won (S$5,100).

READ ALSO: I wanted to test the doors, says passenger who pried open doors of moving train

bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com