Two pastors fined 1 million won each for disrupting flight with loud preaching

Two pastors were fined 1 million won ($723) each for disrupting a domestic flight by loudly preaching to passengers and refusing repeated requests from cabin crew to stop, local media reported on August 24.

The pastors, 64 and 68, were convicted of violating the Aviation Security Act over an incident aboard a flight from Jeju to Gimpo that departed at around 3:40 p.m. on March 12, according to the Seoul Southern District Court’s Aug. 18 ruling.

The court said the 64-year-old pastor stood in the aisle despite repeated attempts by crew members to stop him and shouted at passengers, “You will go to hell if you don’t believe in Jesus.”

The other pastor joined in, shouting, “Hallelujah, you will go to hell” while walking up and down the aisle. When a crew member approached to issue a warning, the pastors reportedly shouted back, “Don’t try to lecture me.”

The two ignored repeated complaints and objections from crew and passengers, and the disturbance continued for about 13 minutes, according to the court.

At trial, the pastors denied the charges, arguing that their conduct did not meet the legal definition of a “disturbance” under the Aviation Security Act and that they had no intent to cause such a scene.

The court rejected that argument. “Based on the lawfully collected evidence, both the defendants’ disruptive conduct and their intent to cause it have been established,” the court said in its ruling.

The Aviation Security Act bars verbal abuse, disruptive behavior and any conduct that endangers other passengers in order to protect the safety of flights.

Under the law, pilots and crew members can restrain unruly passengers using devices such as taser guns and binding ropes if a disturbance continues, and police can open an investigation upon landing. — Korea News Herald/Asia News Network