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 disembark right 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 from Incheon International Airport to Guam on August 23.

The author claimed that as Park's 22-month-old daughter kept crying on the plane, Park's family stated they wanted to get off the aircraft, requesting voluntary disembarkation.

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 reboarding.

Claims also arose that the process of reloading the already unloaded luggage delayed 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, experiencing a delay of about 70 minutes.

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

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

Korean Air explained, "Voluntary disembarkation itself is regarded as a serious aviation security threat," adding, "As the operation of the aircraft was delayed, additional fueling was required and ground handling costs increased, taking up a lot of time and expenses."

As the controversy grew, Park explained via his SNS today (August 26), "Flustered because the child was crying to the point where we could not be seated right after boarding, I made an immature judgment," adding, "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)