From celebrity crushes to crowd crushes: Fan gatherings at airports pose serious danger, experts warn
Published: 17 Dec. 2025, 20:17
Updated: 18 Dec. 2025, 12:32
-
- LEE SOO-JUNG
- [email protected]
![Fans take photos of boy band Seventeen before their flight at Gimpo International Airport on May 9. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/18/a1194fb1-54a3-428f-9524-1d575189b193.jpg)
Fans take photos of boy band Seventeen before their flight at Gimpo International Airport on May 9. [NEWS1]
Herds of fans of K-pop singers and actors continue to cause chaos at Korea's airports, leading to scuffles and injuries, with experts pointing to the risk of a fatal crowd crush in a worst-case scenario.
Amid an ongoing blame game on who should regulate these crowds, lawmakers, airport operators and safety experts urged entertainment agencies to bear greater responsibility when K-pop singers and actors pass through airports, warning of the security dangers posed by fans recklessly rushing toward their favorite celebrities during a policy dialogue held at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Wednesday.
The customer service and security representatives from the Incheon International Airport Corporation and the Korea Airports Corporation stressed that K-pop idol fans and paid photographers should not violate the fundamental principle that airports should never serve the commercial benefit of particular groups — especially at the expense of ordinary air travelers’ safety.
The Korea Airports Corporation manages 14 domestic and international airports nationwide, except for Incheon International Airport.
Wednesday’s dialogue came after a series of public inconveniences and hazards caused by fans and photographers who bring metal ladders and push and shove each other — just to get closer to their celebrity crushes.
Incheon International Airport has declared safety management crisis alerts 18 times this year as of October, all triggered by the departures of high-profile figures, including show-business figures and athletes. The four-tier alert — issued when more than 200 people are gathered — prompts additional crowd-control measures, beginning with the deployment of seven security personnel.
On July 31, when aespa, IVE, ZeroBaseOne and other K-pop groups arrived at Incheon International Airport to depart for KCON LA in the United States, more than 500 fans surrounded the artists. The highest alert level was imposed for the first time this year, with 36 security personnel being dispatched.
In July last year, a private bodyguard flashed lights directly into the faces of passengers while escorting actor Byeon Woo-seok at Incheon International Airport, a move which drew significant public backlash as being excessive. The guard was sentenced to pay a 1-million-won ($675) fine for unnecessarily using physical force against ordinary travelers.
Cho Woo-ho, chief security officer of the Incheon International Airport Corporation, noted that airport operators have limited authority to enforce safety rules because they are not authorized by law to mobilize the police or evict disrupters.
“We can only help and guide people to follow safety rules, but we cannot force them,” Cho said.
![Experts and airport officials discuss how to manage crowd safety when fans gather at airports to see celebrities during a parliamentary policy dialogue held in western Seoul on Dec. 17. [LEE SOO-JUNG]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/18/c44416fa-bd50-4ee8-84ff-5d2d87ef729e.jpg)
Experts and airport officials discuss how to manage crowd safety when fans gather at airports to see celebrities during a parliamentary policy dialogue held in western Seoul on Dec. 17. [LEE SOO-JUNG]
Moon urged airport operators to strongly and explicitly warn entertainment agencies not to prioritize popularity over public safety. He said it is a “very wrong culture to gauge one’s popularity and fame based on the number of people surrounding them.”
“Those who cause the crowd [referring to entertainment and public relations agencies] should be responsible for safety management and the cost,” Moon said. “They should provide not only a crowd management plan but solutions for a stampede disaster.”
Experts and officials reaffirmed that passengers’ safety is the priority.
Jang Yeo-jin, deputy director of aviation at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said that airports belong to passengers, noting that the government adheres to the principle that they should not be used to benefit specific individuals or particular interests.
“The government is mulling over measures on how to handle disruptive behaviors and how to penalize those who violently harm others at airports,” Jang said. “The government will draw a line on accountability among stakeholders — airport operators, entertainment agencies and private security service providers.”
![Fans with cameras crowd Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 as actor Byeon Woo-seok arrives on July 16. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/18/a960def9-6ec3-488d-af3c-9f370c11daf9.jpg)
Fans with cameras crowd Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 as actor Byeon Woo-seok arrives on July 16. [NEWS1]
Noh suggested prohibiting behaviors such as climbing ladders and shoving each other at airports by amending the Airport Facilities Act. He believes it could enable airport operators to levy fines on those who engage in hazardous behavior while chasing their favorite celebrities, or to expel them.
He additionally said that segregating check-in counters and body-screening checkpoints between ordinary air travelers and celebrities would prevent ordinary passengers from getting tangled up with fans and photographers carrying huge cameras and ladders.
“It is not a special treatment for celebrities, but a measure to ensure the safety of passengers,” Noh said.
Gimpo International Airport is expected to revise its crowd safety management protocols by January next year.
BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)