"Even Economy Class Passengers Suffered"... Park Soo-hong Apologizes for Reversing Guam Flight Boarding Decision Amid 'Special Treatment' Controversy [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

Broadcaster Park Soo-hong was reported to have boarded a Korean Air flight bound for Guam but later reversed his decision to board, causing the flight to be delayed. The situation arose after Park's daughter cried intensely. As controversy over the boarding reversal grew, Park apologized, but questions about whether special treatment was involved continue.

Recently, a post by a passenger who boarded a Korean Air flight to Guam on the 23rd appeared on an online community. According to the post, Park Soo-hong's family boarded Korean Air Flight KE415 from Incheon International Airport to Guam on the 23rd. The poster stated that Park's 22-month-old daughter, Jae-yang, kept crying during the flight, prompting the Park family to voluntarily request to disembark.

According to a fellow passenger, Park and his wife boarded the same flight with the Lee Yong-sik family. Park, seated in business class, personally apologized to other business class passengers for the baby's crying. In the publicly released video, the baby's sharp cries can be heard.

Business class passengers were aware of the situation and waited after accepting Park's apology. However, economy class passengers only learned that their flight had been delayed due to the Park family after reading the article.

Another parent who boarded the economy section with a child stated, "We waited for an hour without knowing why it was because of the Park family. Everyone waited when they said they would get off, but then they said they wouldn't get off. While we understand the awkwardness of a crying baby, waiting an hour made even economy class passengers suffer." The parent shared their difficult experience at the time while traveling with a child.

On the 26th, Park Soo-hong posted on his personal account: "Recently, our family caused a delayed departure during the flight's departure process. This caused significant inconvenience by taking away many people's precious time and also caused damage to airline staff. I sincerely apologize with my head bowed."

Park continued, "At the time, the child was crying so intensely that we couldn't even sit down immediately after boarding, leading to a hasty decision. Concerned that the baby's crying would cause greater inconvenience to passengers during the long flight, I initially informed the cabin staff of our intention to disembark. While waiting on board, the baby stopped crying, and we expressed our desire to reboard. However, we failed to realize this could significantly delay security checks and other procedures. This incident occurred entirely due to my ignorance of aviation-related procedures, leaving no room for any excuse." He added, "Once again, I deeply bow my head to apologize to the passengers and airline staff who suffered greatly due to my shortcomings."

Despite Park's apology, the controversy continues. While it is understandable that Park requested to disembark to avoid causing inconvenience due to his baby's crying, some argue that removing all luggage and then reversing the boarding decision, which the airline accepted, constitutes "celebrity special treatment."

The public questions whether such a scenario would have been possible if an ordinary citizen, not celebrity Park Soo-hong, had requested to disembark due to a crying child, removed their luggage, and then asked to reboard once the crying stopped.

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*This content was translated by AI.