No Passport Control, Flawed Security: Dozens of Passengers Enter South Korea Unchecked

It has been confirmed that a security breach occurred when dozens of international Korean Air passengers arriving from Japan entered South Korea at Gimpo International Airport without going through immigration inspection.

According to the aviation industry and other sources, Korean Air Flight KE2106, departing from Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, arrived at Gimpo Airport at around 11:30 a.m. on June 7.

The passengers boarded several shuttle buses to move to the international terminal, but one of the buses carrying about 40 Korean and foreign passengers mistakenly dropped them off at the domestic terminal instead.

At the time, there were no staff members in the domestic terminal to control the movement of international passengers.

The passengers mixed with domestic arrivals from other flights and entered the terminal building.

International arrivals are required to go through immigration inspection, but this entire process was skipped.

It was reported that Korean Air only became aware of the situation after some passengers waiting for their baggage in the domestic terminal notified airport staff, saying, "We seem to have mistakenly arrived at the domestic area."

The airline searched for the passengers who were in the domestic baggage claim area and other spots, moved them back to the international terminal, and had them go through immigration.

However, five passengers had already left the airport without undergoing immigration clearance.

One foreign passenger had traveled as far as a region south of Gyeonggi Province before their whereabouts were confirmed late in the afternoon, returning to Gimpo Airport to undergo immigration about nine hours after the incident occurred.

Another passenger, who was on their way to Incheon International Airport, also returned to Gimpo Airport to complete immigration procedures.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport concluded that Korean Air failed to properly implement its own security plan during the ramp bus transportation process and imposed a fine of 10 million won on the airline.

Korean Air stated, "We take the matter seriously and will re-examine on-site operation procedures," adding, "We will review necessary measures to prevent similar inconveniences from recurring."

Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Ahn Jun-hyeok | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.