Complaint Over Byun Woo-seok’s Excessive Security Controversy Filed With Human Rights Commission 

On July 14th, an article titled, “A complaint on violation of human rights has been filed with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea regarding the controversy over excessive security of Byun Woo-seok”, appeared in online communities. The post’s author captured the website page showing the completion of a civil complaint filed to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea.

The article’s author A said, “The controversy over excessive security of actor Byun Woo-seok is intensifying. Judging that this is a violation of human rights under the Human Rights Act, we have filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea through National Newspaper earlier today.”

In the complaint, they said, “In accordance with Article 30(1) of the National Human Rights Commission Act (subject to the committee’s investigation), the National Human Rights Commission of Korea should thoroughly investigate the violation of human rights caused by Byun Woo-seok’s excessive security controversy”, adding, “If any illegal acts are found, we strongly urge strict measures to be taken, including requesting an investigation and necessary actions by the prosecution and the head of investigative agency, in accordance with Article 34(1) of same Act”.

Earlier on the 12th, Byun Woo-seok arrived at Incheon International Airport to leave for his fanmeeting schedule in Hong Kong. Numerous videos taken at the airport showing witnesses of Byun Woo-seok spread on X (formerly Twitter). Controversy broke out because of a video showing the bodyguard pointing flashlights at ordinary passengers around Byun Woo-seok.

The bodyguard was only protecting Byun Woo-seok as a celebrity, however, complaints poured out as he pointed flashlights at people around even though no one tried to approach Byun Woo-seok or make physical contact with the actor. In particular, criticism intensified as there were reportedly a lot of children at the airport at that time.

Due to the negative public opinion, the security company issued an apology. The company in charge of protecting Byun Woo-seok released an article via a media outlet admitting that the act of pointing flashlights at ordinary passengers was wrong, adding “We apologize for causing inconvenience to ordinary passengers”. They added, “As the number of fans coming to the airport has increased so much because of Byun Woo-seok, there is a high risk of accidents. We will provide training to our staff to prevent the incident from happening again.”