Unregulated passes create security loophole at Incheon airport

SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Yonhap) -- More than a hundred unregulated passes to Incheon airport's secure areas are feared to create a security loophole at the main gateway to South Korea, data by the airport's operator showed Tuesday. Incheon International Airport Corp., the state-run operator of the country's main airport, said it detected 127 unauthorized airport passes being used illegally as of late 2011. The illegitimate passes are mostly from employees of the company and related businesses at the airport who failed to return their passes due to retirement or nonuse for more than three months in violation of airport security regulations, according to the data. The firm also said its recent simulation of airport infiltration revealed lax security screening measures at the bustling airport. Those who were holding other people's passes were easily admitted through the screening station to the secure areas without proper identification checks, according to the company. The simulation also found one pass could be illegitimately used to let up to two people though the screening station due to an insufficient screening system, it noted. The potential security risks posed by the security passes has resurfaced since June last year, when a criminal on the police's wanted list was caught entering the Incheon airport's secure areas on a stolen security pass. The airport operator said they will tighten regulation over the use of security passes and step up employee education. (END)