 Security personnel check a full body scanner at Incheon International Airport, Aug. 12, ahead of a trial operation in September. / Korea Times |
By Lee Hyo-sik
Watch out for full body scanners, female air travelers! You are 10 times more likely to be scanned at airports than your male counterparts.
According to data submitted by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs to Rep. Cho Won-jin of the Grand National Party Monday, 1,963 women had to go through a full body scanner at Gimpo International Airport from October 2010 through July this year. Only 205 male air travelers were subject to the scanning over the same period.
At Jeju International Airport, 952 female air travelers underwent the screening, compared to 573 male passengers.
The government installed three full body scanners at Incheon International Airport, and one each at Jeju, Gimpo and Gimhae airports in October last year, ahead of the G20 Seoul summit a month later.
Despite concerns over possible invasions of privacy, the scanner was introduced as part of government efforts to beef up air travel security.
Airport authorities said they have been scanning passengers suspected of posing a threat to other travelers and airplanes, and those who are blacklisted or did not pass the initial security procedure. Those who refuse to undergo the body scanning can instead choose to be searched manually by immigration officers.
``It is problematic that the majority of travelers scanned through the device are women. I think this could be seen as sexual discrimination and violation of their privacy. Airport authorities should be more careful when selecting who to scan,’’ Rep. Cho said.
In response, Korea Airport Corp. (KAC), operator of Gimpo, Jeju and 12 other local airports, issued a statement Monday, saying more women have been subject to the scanning simply because there are more female travelers.
``Among Chinese and Japanese entering Korea through Gimpo and Jeju airports, women are the outright majority. Also, many women wear metal accessories and other objects that trigger an alarm when they go through a detector,’’ the statement said.
A KAC spokeswoman stressed that due to possible concerns over the invasion of privacy, the airports have been scanning only a small number of international travelers who could endanger other passengers or airplanes.
``Only 0.3 percent of international passengers entering and exiting Gimpo and Jeju airports have been subject to the screening. Those who fail to pass the initial security screening can choose to either undergo scanning or be searched by immigration officers,’’ she said.
The spokeswoman said the security personnel guiding the passenger through the scanner cannot see the scanned image, adding that another employee viewing the image is positioned away from the passenger.
