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South Korean Prime Minister Han Myung-sook. (yonhap)
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Late arrival to meet Portuguese president chided
South Korean Prime Minister Han Myung-sook, in Portugal on the second leg of her four-day European tour, showed up 23 minutes late to meet Portuguese president Anibal Cavaco Silva. Prime Minister Han’s plane took off from France an hour later than scheduled, partly due to actions by the minister’s entourage, causing her to apologize to President Silva. When Prime Minister Han was boarding the plane, the entourage accompanying her attempted to board the plane without proper boarding passes. As a result, they were prevented by flight attendents and made to wait until the proper paperwork could be provided. Prime Minister Han’s office initially didn’t clearly explain the gaffe, distributing a written explanation to reporters after the media picked up on the story. Shortly before the plane took off, the explanation said, a member of the prime minister’s entourage was double-booked in a seat occupied by another passenger. The resulting reseating was behind the plane’s hour-late departure, according to the office’s explanation. The office did not mention the incident in which the prime minister’s entourage attempted to enter the plane without boarding passes.Critics say the prime minister’s office and serving protocol officers should always bear unexpected incidents in mind when planning such a trip, and should operate a complete simulation of each diplomatic visit, in order to nail down procedure and protocol. If such an incident had taken place under former prime minister Lee Hae-chan, known for his fastidiousness, several officials at the prime minister’s office said that many there would have been held accountable. However, other officials in the office said that if the Prime Minister of South Korea were provided with a private plane, such a situation would not have happened.
