Reports: Secret Service Employees Have Alleged Drunken Dispute with Cab Driver in South Korea; Discipline Looms

Two employees with the U.S. Secret Service have been sent home from South Korea and will be disciplined for an alleged intoxicated dispute involving a cab driver there after they patronized several bars ahead of President Joe Biden’s arrival in the country, according to reports.

Multiple sources familiar with the matter told ABC News that the incident involved one Secret Service agent and a physical security specialist with the agency who visited various bars throughout the night. The sources said a verbal dispute between a cab driver and the agent unfolded, and one of the sources told the outlet a police report was filed regarding the ‘”altercation” after local authorities were alerted to the situation. The Secret Service has opened an investigation into the incident, though no charges were filed in South Korea, the Associated Press reported.

The workers were not set to be on Biden’s detail, but were in the country to get ready for his arrival, Fox News noted. They are now en route to the United States, where they will be reprimanded for the incident, a source told the outlet.

“The Secret Service is aware of an off-duty incident involving two employees which may constitute potential policy violations,” Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman with the Secret Service, told ABC News in a statement. The employees will be “placed on administrative leave,” Guglielmi said. 

“We have very strict protocols and policies for all employees and we hold ourselves to the highest professional standards,” the statement continued. “Given this is an active administrative personnel matter, we are not in a position to comment further.”

Don Mihalek, a retired Secret Service agent who works as an ABC News contributor, told the outlet that the agency “conducts thousands of advances for protectees each year, including for the president overseas.” He added that the Secret Service has maintained the president’s safety “through it all,” and “few incidents have arisen.”

“Despite that, the Secret Service is made up of people, some who make mistakes,” he continued. “When they do though, the response has been thorough to ensure that the integrity of the mission is always maintained.”