A private security company that sparked controversy for overprotecting actor Byeon Wooseok was sentenced to a fine.
On the 2nd, Shin Heung-ho, presiding judge of Criminal Division 6 at Incheon District Court, said he sentenced a man in his 40s, private bodyguard A, and security company B, both charged with violating the Security Services Act, to fines of 1 million won each.
A and others were indicted on charges of acting beyond the scope of security duties, such as displaying force to other passengers using the airport, while protecting Byeon Wooseok at Incheon Airport on the morning of July 12 last year.
At the time, Byeon Wooseok used Incheon Airport to depart for an Asia fan meeting tour in Hong Kong, and as fans gathered during the process, the private security company controlled the gate and shone flashes at ordinary passengers, causing controversy. In addition, some alleged that the company inspected the passports and boarding passes of lounge users.
In a phone call with OSEN, the security company apologized for shining flashes at passengers but explained that it had sought cooperation from Incheon Airport during the security process and that regarding the passport and boarding pass inspection allegations, it "only verbally confirmed under the cooperation of airport security whether the person going to the lounge was headed in the same direction."
However, Incheon Airport reviewed that the actions of the private security company that protected Byeon Wooseok amounted to abuse of authority and coercion, and filed a complaint against them with the police.
Shin Heung-ho said, "Shining light constitutes the use of physical force and does not fall within the scope of security duties," and noted, "The protected person did not use the airport secretly to avoid people following them but publicly carried out their schedule. If the act at the time was intended to prevent photographing of the protected person, they could have kept the schedule secret, covered their face with a hat and mask, and moved to a place without people. Even if photography occurred despite such measures, actions could have been taken to shield the protected person."
He added, "On the contrary, the protected person exposed their schedule and moved through areas where fans were gathered as if holding a 'fan meeting,'" and judged, "They shone lights at people for the reason of cellphone photography, stimulating visual organs of people who did not appear to pose any particular risk."
However, he said he considered sentencing factors such as that "the defendant appears not to have previously committed the same act and has vowed not to do so again" and that there was no prior record of punishment for similar crimes.
Meanwhile, Byeon Wooseok's agency Baro Entertainment issued an official statement during the overprotection controversy, saying, "We deeply apologize for the harm caused to airport users during the process of carrying out security duties when our artist departed from Incheon Airport," and expressed an apology for moral responsibility.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]