The team member, who works for the US Department of Homeland Security, was detained in the early hours of Thursday after getting into a fight over a taxi, an official at Yongsan district police told Reuters.

The incident occurred outside the Grand Hyatt hotel, where Biden is expected to stay.

The police official did not give the name or other information on the suspect.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House referred questions to the Secret Service, which did not immediately respond.

The Homeland Security department includes the Secret Service, the agency that guards the president. Secret Service members have periodically been involved in incidents of misbehaviour overseas in the past.

Biden arrived in Seoul on Friday evening, with South Korea the first stop on his first trip to Asia as president.

TV Chosun, a South Korean broadcaster that first reported the incident, said the suspect was in his 30s and was arrested after a fellow guest at the hotel called police.