Comedian Park Soo-hong apologizes after his family causes flight delay

Comedian Park Soo-hong apologized for his family delaying an international flight by repeatedly changing their decision over whether to disembark.

"I’m truly sorry that my family delayed the flight, wasted passengers’ valuable time and caused trouble for the airline staff," Park wrote on Instagram on Wednesday.

Park and his family boarded a Korean Air flight from Incheon Airport to Guam on Sunday morning and were seated in business class. Park soon asked the crew to let his family get off the plane after his 2-year-old daughter began crying uncontrollably, news report said.

The family’s checked baggage was unloaded, but they changed their minds and decided to remain on board after the child stopped crying.

According to flight information from Incheon Airport, Korean Air flight KE415, which was carrying Park’s family and about 200 other passengers, departed at 10:56 a.m., 51 minutes behind schedule.

Some critics questioned whether Park received preferential treatment as a celebrity by being allowed to reverse his decision to voluntarily disembark. Korean Air, however, said it followed standard procedures.

Under the Aviation Security Act, when a passenger voluntarily asks to leave a plane, the airline must notify air traffic control, halt the departure and conduct security procedures, including screening all passengers.

Passengers may reverse their decision to disembark as long as they have not left the cabin, officials said.

A total of 2,965 cases of passengers disembarking from aircraft were recorded at airports nationwide between 2019 and August 2024. Of those, 2,548, or 85.9 percent, were voluntary, while the remaining 417 resulted from aircraft defects, delays or cancellations, government data showed.