On July 24th, the Incheon Airport Police Station will conduct a witness interrogation of employees from the private security company involved in the controversy over excessive security of actor Byun Woo-seok. The police plan to summon the bodyguards who closed the gate that day to find out details of the incident and question the bodyguard who pointed the flashlight to ordinary citizens as well as the security company’s CEO in turn.
Since the controversy broke out, the police have conducted an internal investigation into three out of six employees of the security company in charge of protecting Byun Woo-seok during his departure. They are considering applying charges such as obstruction of business and coercion for the bodyguards’ actions, such as blocking the entrances, checking citizens’ passports and boarding passes, as well as pointing flashlights at citizens.
A, CEO of Byun Woo-seok’s security company, said, “The Incheon International Airport’s side denied that we consulted them, but we will clarify this in the police investigation that all the security works had been carried out in coordination with them”.
Regarding the allegation of closing the gate, CEO A said, “The Incheon Airport’s Security Division told us about the method of manually opening and closing the automatic doors after passing through the gate. There were about 4 security staff members on the site to directly block the gate after actor Byun Woo-seok passed through it”, adding that they would submit footage showing the airport staff at the scene of Byun Woo-seok’s departure.
Regarding the control of escalator access and inspection of citizens’ passports and boarding passes, CEO A stated, “With concerns about accidents due to the crowd, we consulted with the airport security division from the gate”, adding that it was impossible for a private security company to do it without coordination with the airport staff.
CEO A further explained, “At that time, there was a crowd of duty-free shop employees, citizens, and fans, at the airport so we were worried about the possibility of accidents. We took measures in coordination with airport staff to prevent the crowd from flocking on the escalators”, adding “We did not inspect passports due to the crowd, but rather verified whether individuals were authorized to enter the lounge”
A continued, “Some fans bought business tickets to sit near the actor and follow every step of him within the security area”, adding “We are sorry for the inconvenience caused by the bodyguard who pointed flashlights at citizens”.
