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Court fines bodyguard, security firm for excessive security for actor Byeon Woo-seok at Incheon airport
Court fines bodyguard, security firm for excessive security for actor Byeon Woo-seok at Incheon airport
A Seoul court imposed fines on a bodyguard and a security company after they were found guilty of providing excessive security to “Lovely Runner” star Byeon Woo-seok at Incheon International Airport in July last year that went beyond the allowed duties.
The Incheon District Court also reprimanded Byeon Woo-seok for turning the airport situation into a “fan meeting.”
The court imposed a fine of one million won (about $711) each on the star’s bodyguard, 44, and a security company who were indicted last year for violating Korea’s Security Service Act.
They were indicted on charges of acting beyond their scope of security duties, such as displaying force and using physical force against other passengers while protecting Byeon Woo-seok at the airport.
The incident happened on July 12 last when Byeon Woo-seok arrived at Incheon International Airport to board his flight for a fan meeting in Hong Kong.
Byeon Woo-seok’s popularity soared after starring in the drama “Lovely Runner” with Kim Hye-yoon.
Fans flocked to the airport to see him. After he entered Gate 2 of the Incheon International Airport’s Terminal 2 departure hall, his bodyguard closed the public gate for about 10 minutes, preventing people from entering.
Korean media reported that he checked in at the Korean Air premium check-in counter and went to the Departure Hall 1, completed security screening and departure inspection and entered the duty-free area.
When he went to the fourth floor at the Korean Air Prestige Class Lounge, his security team blocked the escalator entrance. They blocked the entrance and began checking passengers’ passports and boarding passes.
At the time, the security company said, “We only checked those who wanted to enter the lounge” but some pointed out that this was an excessive abuse of power.
Incheon International Airport said this kind of passport and boarding pass inspection was not discussed with the airport at all.
A video also showed that in the airport lounge, the actor’s bodyguard shined a flashlight at passengers.
Varo Entertainment, the actor’s agency, apologized, saying, “We deeply apologize for the damage that was caused to passengers while we were performing our security duties for actor Byeon Woo-seok at Incheon Airport on July 12.”
After the incident, a Korean netizen filed a complaint with the online people’s petition center in South Korea on July 14.
In the decision, the court said, “Shining a flashlight constitutes an act of physical force and is not within the scope of security duties. The defendant appears not to have engaged in similar behavior prior to this incident and has vowed not to do so again.”
About the actor, the court said, “The person under protection (Byeon Woo-seok) did not use the airport secretly to avoid being followed, but carried out his schedule openly,”
“If (his actions at the time) were intended to prevent the person under protection from being filmed, he could have kept his schedule a secret, covered his face with a hat and mask, and moved to a quiet location. At the time, (the person under security) rather exposed his schedule and moved through places where fans gathered as if he was having a ‘fan meeting,’” the court said, Korean media reported.
News reports quoted Professor Seo Kyung-deok of Sungshin Women's University as saying, "This will remain a good precedent for future Hallyu stars and their agencies. They should not engage in behavior that causes harm to ordinary citizens in public places such as airports. As K-content spreads widely around the world, it is very important for Hallyu stars to observe ‘basic etiquette’ in public places.”