Thai fans face probe after meeting with Lee Jong-suk at airport

BANGKOK (The Nation/ANN) -- Her dream of meeting and shaking hands with her South Korean idol may have come true but an indiscrete revelation of how she had accomplished the feat on her Facebook page has landed the fan in a soup and could end in her being jailed.

The fan, along with another person, met Lee Jong-suk, 29, in a restricted area inside Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Sirote Duangratana, the general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, on Sunday said that security camera footage showed that the incident took place on Sept. 14 at around 9:15 p.m.

The two persons entered the restricted area through a special counter by using a security clearance card of an unnamed customs official. The official himself accompanied both persons into the area to meet Lee who had just reached the arrival lounge.

The actor is scheduled to perform a concert in Bangkok. They were taken to meet Lee at the belt where the actor was waiting to pick up his luggage. “I disguised myself as a customs official,” the fan wrote on her Facebook together with a photo.

She boasted that she was the first one to have an opportunity to meet and shake hands with him.

The encounter with their dream idol would have gone unnoticed but one of the two fans posted about her happiness and the privilege she had enjoyed on her Facebook.

Her description brought criticism from netizens who questioned the official favors she had received, forcing the authority concerned to take action.

Sirote said his officials have already filed complaints with Suvarnabhumi Airport Police station against both persons for allegedly invading a controlled site of the airport at night time.

This was considered a criminal offense with punishment of not more than five years of imprisonment or a fine of not over Bt100,000, he said.

The customs official who facilitated their entry will be charged with complicity.

“We are summoning the official who allowed the two persons to use his identity pass to enter the arrival lounge to meet the Korean idol. If he was really involved in the offense, more charges will be filed against him,” Sirote said, adding the maximum punishment was dismissal.

As of now, the official’s passes to the airport have already been suspended.

Sirote reiterated that his agency placed utmost importance on providing and keeping security at the airport as per laws and international standard.