“This is sad”—Fans react to Lovely Runner’s Byeon Woo-seok’s heartbreaking change amid ongoing airport security controversy

South Korean actor Byeon Woo-seok arrived at Seoul's Incheon Airport on July 16, 2024, from his overseas schedule. Several clips of him being guarded by his company CEO and bodyguards, which were taken during his arrival, went viral online.

Fans noted that as the CEO was trying to keep the fans away from the actor, Byeon Woo-seok politely pulled the CEO's hands down despite risking getting pushed by the fans.

For the uninitiated, Lovely Runner's famed actor's excessive security detail became the subject of criticism when he left for Hong Kong on July 12, 2024, for his Asian fan meet, Summer Letter. His bodyguards were criticized for inspecting plane tickets and flashing other passengers.

On July 16, South Korean media outlet Ten Asia reported that the police had launched an investigation into the actor's bodyguards who checked other passengers' plane tickets without any authority. Meanwhile, fans were saddened to see the actor risking his safety to avoid inciting the ongoing criticism. One fan wrote:

"This is sad"

Others expressed sympathy for the Lovely Runner actor's altered demeanor and emphasized the fact that Byeon Woo-seok needed airport security since the crowd continued to shove him, especially near the boarding gate.

"Wooseok is a kind person but he does need security it isn’t safe for him to have necessary protection around him. People need to respect his space," one fan wrote.

"Knowing that he's aware of it, just breaks my heart. He must've been feeling so down/tired of all that's happening. Unfortunately that's the downside of gaining popularity, I hope he'll not overthink it too much because many are still rooting for him," another fan added.

"Why people always try to ruin people when someone becomes famous. I mean, wsk is so gentle and good manner, idk why they try so hard to make him look like a bad guy," another fan commented.

Fans also expressed concern for Byeon Woo-seok's safety, saying that he should ignore the criticism from online users.

"You don't deserve this treatment. How hard it is to be healed. We, subeoms are definitely be on your side forever," one fan said.

"Sigh this is so sad. The fact is that he indeed needs more protection… look at the crowd especially at the boarding gate," another fan wrote.

"Unfortunately, he needs to toughen up and get a thicker skin ASAP. His haters are banking on him being affected with the hate and he is; which fuels them more. He needs to show he doesn't care. I feel so bad for him but he has to let his agency protect him like they have been," one fan asserted.

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Security company CEO apologizes for causing harm to Byeon Woo-seok's reputation

On July 16, 2024, Ten Asia reported that the security company that provided the bodyguards for Byeon Woo-seok on July 12 apologized for having caused inconvenience to the actor and other passengers. He mentioned that "the scope of control" in the security detail wasn't clearly discussed between his company and Byeon Woo-seok's agency, Varo Entertainment.

Following the uproar, a firm spokesperson apologized for causing discomfort to the public. They also pledged to update their procedures and educate their employees to prevent such occurrences.

"I feel sorry as the CEO of the company for unintentionally causing damage and hurting (the actor himself). The agency only entrusted us with security, and we did not discuss the scope of control with the agency in advance. There are many cases where the set does not run as smoothly as expected," he said.

Additionally, the security company's CEO mentioned why Byeon Woo-seok's bodyguards were blocking the terminal gate. He stated that they had already addressed the matter with airport security because of possible crowd-related mishaps.

However, Ten Asia reported that Incheon Airport officials stated they were not informed of the incident and were not involved in the planning of the gate closure.

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On July 16, 2024, Varo Entertainment issued an apology as well. They promised to be more watchful and cautious going forward to prevent inconveniencing the general public. They further expressed regret for the trouble they had caused the passengers including the Lovely Runner star.