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South Korean comedian Park Soo-hong apologizes after family delays flight by an hour
Sandy Verma | August 28, 2026 10:24 PM CST

“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 Aug. 26.

Park and his family were traveling in business class from Incheon Airport to Guam on Aug. 23 when his two-year-old daughter began crying, prompting him to ask the crew to let them leave the plane, according to The Korea Herald.

Their checked baggage was removed, but the family changed their minds after the child stopped crying and decided to remain on board.

Park Soo-hong and his daughter in a photo on his Instagram.

Korean Air flight KE415, which was carrying around 200 passengers, departed at 10:56 a.m., 51 minutes behind schedule, according to Incheon Airport flight information.

However, some reports said the actual delay was almost 70 minutes because baggage and security- procedures continued before the plane could eventually take off, according to Maeil Business Newspaper.

The incident sparked criticism over whether Park had received preferential treatment because of his celebrity status.

Photos of luggage believed to belong to his family, along with videos of the comedian repeatedly apologizing to fellow passengers, circulated online and attracted attention.

Some people criticized his actions as a “public nuisance,” arguing that he had failed to consider the inconvenience caused to other passengers, according to Chosunbiz.

Others questioned whether Korean Air had shown preferential treatment by allowing his family to reverse their decision to disembark for personal reasons.

Korean Air said it had followed standard procedures, its representative told Xports News.

Under South Korea’s Aviation Security Act, airlines must notify air traffic control, halt departure and conduct security checks, including screening all passengers, when a passenger voluntarily chooses to leave a plane.

Passengers can reverse their decision as long as they have not yet left the cabin, the airline stated.

Park explained that he initially asked to leave the aircraft because he was concerned his daughter’s crying during the long flight would cause greater inconvenience to other passengers.

However, while the family was waiting on board, the child stopped crying, prompting Park to change his mind and ask to reboard. The flight was reportedly delayed as the airline carried out security checks and other procedures.

“I didn’t realize that saying I wanted to board again after my child stopped crying could significantly delay security checks and other procedures,” Park said, apologizing for the disruption. He added that the incident resulted entirely from his lack of understanding of airline procedures and said he had no excuse for his actions.

Despite his apology, Park and his family continued to face criticism online, eventually prompting him to disable comments on his social media post as of Aug. 28.

At the same time, some people have urged others not to criticize the comedian excessively.

They noted that the comedian initially wanted to leave the plane because he was concerned his young daughter’s crying would disturb fellow passengers, arguing that his original decision itself should not be condemned despite the subsequent delay.


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