A netizen filed a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea against a security company hired by actor Byeon Woo-seok's agency, following allegations of excessive security measures that resulted in human rights violations.

A screenshot of the complaint filed to the commission alleging "human rights violations" due to the excessive security measures was posted on an online community on Sunday.

Byeon Woo-seok departed for Hong Kong at Incheon Airport on Friday for his Asia fan meeting tour "Summer Letter." Security guards from his security company blocked the gates, flashed lights at passengers in the airport lounge and arbitrarily checked some passengers' tickets and passports.

A security guard at the scene reportedly announced, "When Byeon arrives, we will block the gate. The block's duration is 10 minutes. No one, including reporters, can enter."

"Byeon’s agency never requested such excessive security," the security company representative told local news outlet News1. "We deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused to the public."

“It’s common sense that we can't block the gate for 10 minutes. We coordinated with airport security after discussions,” said the representative. He stated that the gate blocking and ticket inspections on the second floor of the airport were conducted "in cooperation with airport security, not as an independent decision or action."

Incheon Airport said that they controlled one of the 14 bus drop-off gates in the departure hall on the third floor, noting that it is sometimes closed for safety when there is a risk of crowding as vehicles come and go.

The airport denied involvement regarding the arbitrary passport and ticket checks.

“There was no agreement with the security company on this matter," said the airport. "Generally, once passengers pass through the process, they are considered to have verified their identity, so there is little control inside the airport.”

“If it turns out that Incheon International Airport facilitated the private security company’s actions and discriminated against regular passengers during the security process, we may launch a full investigation,” said an official from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea.

"If it was an incident caused by the independent actions of the security company, there is no reason for the commission to make a decision on the complaint," the official told local news outlet Chosun Ilbo. "This is because individual human rights violations between private parties are not subject to the commission's investigations."

“If an Incheon International Airport employee, who is considered a public servant, discriminated between Byeon and regular passengers, it could become a subject of investigation,” said the official. “The current complaint simply raises an issue with the private security company's actions toward individual passengers, so it is unlikely that the commission will investigate and make a decision on it.”


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