Incheon Airport ditches plan for 'celebrity entrance' after backlash

Public outcry over preferential treatment has put the brakes on Incheon Airport's plan to allow celebrities to use a crew entrance.

People line up at Incheon International Airport. Photo is unrelated to the article. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Incheon International Airport on Sunday retracted its plan for a “dedicated entrance” for celebrities a day before it was set to be launched after public backlash over potential preferential treatment for famous people.

The Incheon International Airport Corporation announced in a press release that it will not pursue the policy of designating entrances for celebrities and other public figures, which was scheduled to be implemented on Monday.

“We will examine practices at overseas airports and gather sufficient feedback to establish alternative measures ensuring the safety of airport users and addressing issues like congestion due to crowding,” said the airport corporation.

The corporation announced on Wednesday that starting Monday, celebrities would be allowed to use an existing exclusive entrance, currently designated for pilots, flight attendants and diplomats, to ensure the safety of regular passengers.

The measure came as a response to an "excessive security" incident in July involving actor Byeon Woo-seok.

Byeon’s private security guards came under fire in July for blocking airport gates, flashing lights at passengers in the airport lounge and arbitrarily checking some passengers' tickets and passports without proper authorization from the airport. The firm cited a need to protect the actor at the time, who was about to leave the country to embark on his Asia fan meet-and-greet tour "Summer Letter."

Four members of the private security firm responsible for Byeon’s excessive security were criminally charged by the police in August. The members of the security firm, including its head, were charged for violating the Security Services Industry Act and more.

Actor Byeon Woo-seok, left, accompanied by security flashing a light at a crowd in July. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The airport's new policy of exclusive gates for celebrities quickly faced backlash from the public and lawmakers over concerns about preferential treatment.

“This move gives the public a sense of relative deprivation and sparked debates over preferential treatment and social hierarchy among celebrities,” said Democratic Party Rep. Jeon Yong-gi during the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee audit held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Thursday.

“Some even question if being a celebrity equates to a position of nobility.”

“During last year’s audit, there was a suggestion to provide a dedicated entrance for celebrities to reduce potential congestion in densely crowded situations,” said the airport corporation's CEO, Lee Hag-jae.

“We had been preparing this procedure even before the Byeon incident, though it hadn’t been implemented earlier.”

“We will reconsider the use of the crew-exclusive entrance due to concerns raised in the recent audit and by the media about possible perceptions of celebrity favoritism,” said an official from the airport corporation.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]