Bar-Hopping Secret Service Duo Sent Home From Biden’s Korea Trip After Getting in ‘Physical Altercation’ with Cab Driver

President Joe Biden’s trip to South Korea faced some struggles before he even arrived. Two Secret Service employees reportedly got into a physical altercation outside of the hotel Biden is staying at before the president’s arrival.

One agent and a “security specialist” were involved in the incident, ABC News originally reported on Friday. The incident came after the two had visited multiple bars and got into a heated argument with a cab driver. Local police were reportedly called.

A Secret Service spokesperson confirmed the incident to ABC, saying it happened while the two were off duty. Both have been placed on administrative leave, and the agency insisted the altercation had no effect on the president’s trip. Agency spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement:

The individuals will be immediately returned back to their post of duty and placed on administrative leave. There was no impact to the upcoming trip. We have very strict protocols and policies for all employees and we hold ourselves to the highest professional standards. Given this is an active administrative personnel matter, we are not in a position to comment further.

It was decided to send the Secret Service employees back to the U.S. while Biden was still making his way to South Korea. Local police responded to the scene, but neither of the employees involved is facing criminal charges at the moment.

Reporting from Seoul, South Korea, CNN reporter Jeremy Diamond told John King on Friday during a report for Inside Politics that the employees visited several bars and got into a “physical altercation” with not only a cab driver, but also two other Korean nationals.

The drunken incident may bring to mind another involving the Secret Service. In 2012 ahead of a presidential trip, multiple agents were sent home from Columbia and investigated for drinking heavily and then hiring prostitutes before the arrival of President Barack Obama.

Watch above, via CNN.