Park Soo-hong Faces Controversy Over 1 Hour Flight Delay After Requesting to Deplane Because Daughter Was Crying

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

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

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

The author claimed that as Park's 22-month-old daughter kept crying on the plane, the family demanded to deplane voluntarily.

However, the author explained that the child calmed down while their luggage was being unloaded, and the family expressed their intent to board again, leading to their re-boarding.

The post also claimed that the process of reloading the already unloaded luggage caused the flight's departure to be delayed 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, experiencing a delay of about 70 minutes.

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

Under aviation security laws, when a passenger requests voluntary deplaning, the operation of the aircraft must be suspended through the control tower and air traffic control authorities, and security screening must be reconducted for all passengers.

Korean Air explained, "Voluntary deplaning itself is regarded as a serious aviation security threat," adding, "As the operation of the aircraft is delayed, additional fueling is required, ground handling costs increase, and a significant amount of time and expenses are incurred."

As the controversy grew, Park posted on his social media today (August 26), explaining, "Flustered because the child cried so much that we could not remain seated right after boarding, I made an immature judgment," and adding, "This happened due to my ignorance of aviation-related procedures."

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

(Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Lee Eui-seon | Design by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News | Video Source: Naver Cafe 'Guam Free Travel Guide', Park Soo-hong's SNS)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.