Park Soo-hong Faces Backlash After Requesting to Leave Guam-Bound Flight Because Daughter Was Crying

Broadcaster Park Soo-hong is facing growing controversy after it was revealed that he recently delayed a flight by asking to get off the plane just before takeoff with his family.

Recently, a post written by a passenger claiming to have been on the same flight as Park was uploaded to an online community.

According to the post, Park and his family boarded Korean Air flight KE415 heading to Guam from Incheon International Airport on the 23rd.

The author claimed that as Park's 22-month-old daughter kept crying on the plane, Park's family insisted on getting off the aircraft.

However, the author explained that during the process of offloading their luggage, the child calmed down, and Park's family expressed their intention to board again, leading to re-boarding.

It was also claimed that during this process, the luggage that had already been taken off had to be reloaded, delaying the flight's departure by about an hour.

In fact, Korean Air flight KE415 was originally scheduled to depart at 10:05 AM, but departed at 11:15 AM, resulting in a delay of about 70 minutes.

Amidst this, some are raising suspicions that the airline may have provided preferential treatment to Park, who is a celebrity.

Under aviation security laws, if a passenger requests to disembark voluntarily, the aircraft's operation must be suspended through the control tower and control authorities, and security screenings must be re-conducted for all passengers.

Korean Air explained, "Voluntary disembarkation itself is considered a serious aviation security threat," adding, "As the flight operation was delayed, additional refueling was required, and ground handling costs increased, consuming a significant amount of time and money."

As the controversy grew, Park explained via his SNS today (the 26th), "Flustered because the child was crying to the point where she could not stay seated as soon as we boarded, I made an immature judgment," and added, "This happened due to my ignorance of aviation-related procedures."

He then expressed his apology, stating, "There is no room for any excuse."

(Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Lee Eui-seon | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News | Video Source: Naver Cafe 'Guam Free Travel Guide', Park Soo-hong's SNS)

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