Broadcaster Park Soo-hong officially apologized for the incident in which the departure of the Korean Air flight to Guam, on which he and his family were aboard, was delayed by over an hour due to his reversal of the decision to disembark.

On the 26th, Park Soo-hong posted an apology on his SNS, stating that a delay in the flight departure occurred recently because of his family, and he bowed his head to apologize for causing inconvenience to many passengers and airline staff. Park explained, ″Right after boarding, my child cried severely, and in my confusion, I expressed my intention to get off to avoid causing trouble to other passengers.″ He continued, ″While waiting inside the cabin, my child stopped crying, and I expressed my intention to board again, but I did not realize that this could cause delays in baggage handling and security checks.″ He added, ″This happened entirely due to my ignorance of airline procedures, and there is no excuse.″

Park Soo-hong’s family boarded Korean Air flight KE415, scheduled to depart from Incheon International Airport to Guam on the 23rd. Just before departure, when Park’s child cried severely, he informed the flight attendants of his intention to disembark, and accordingly, the airline began the disembarkation procedures, including unloading checked baggage. However, when the child calmed down, Park’s family withdrew their intention to disembark and requested to reboard. During this process, reloading of baggage and additional security procedures took place, causing the flight to take off at 11:15 a.m., 1 hour and 10 minutes later than scheduled.

Passengers present at the scene reported that Park repeatedly apologized inside the cabin. A video capturing the situation showed Park apologizing to nearby passengers from the Prestige class seat.

Korean Air stated that they responded according to the manual regarding the passenger’s intention to disembark and that no special treatment was given. An airline official explained that even if the passenger expressed the intention to disembark, cancellation was possible as long as they had not actually left the aircraft. The official added that since baggage sorting begins immediately after receiving the disembarkation request, delays are inevitable during baggage reloading and security checks if the request is withdrawn.

Park Soo-hong once again expressed his deep apology, saying, ″I bow my head and sincerely apologize to the passengers and airline staff who suffered great inconvenience due to my shortcomings.″