A man in his 30s suffering from mental illness was apprehended Monday after making a hoax call warning of an impending bomb explosion at a Seoul hotel, police said.

The man, whose identity was withheld, made the call to police around 8:35 a.m., claiming he had planted an explosive at a Lotte Hotel and that it would go off 10 seconds later.

The man didn't specify whether he was referring to the Lotte hotel in Sogong-dong in central Seoul or the Lotte establishment in Jamsil in southern Seoul. Police commandos and rescue workers were immediately dispatched to the two locations to search for a bomb, but nothing was found, officials said.

While the search was under way, police apprehended the man in Siheung, just south of Seoul, around 9:40 a.m.

Officials said that the man has been receiving treatment for mental illness and he used his father's mobile phone to make the hoax call.

Police are questioning him on charges of obstructing official duties with a falsehood. (Yonhap)