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An Asiana Airlines passenger has been issued an arrest warrant on May 28, for opening the emergency exit door before the plane landed at Daegu International Airport.

In view of the case's gravity, the Daegu District Court issued the warrant to arrest the 33-year-old man, surnamed Lee, for allegedly violating the Aviation Security Act, according to Yonhap News Agency.

He was earlier detained on May 26 after being suspected of opening the plane’s emergency exit door 213 metres above ground.

Asiana Airlines has also suspended the sale of selected emergency exit row seats of its A321-200 jets as of May 28.

Man "wanted to get out quickly"

Lee was quoted as saying by Yonhap that he was “very sorry to the kids” when responding to a media question on whether he knew opening the emergency exit door was dangerous.

Although the plane landed safely with all 194 passengers onboard, nine were conveyed to the hospital for vomiting and breathing difficulties, the Korea Times reported.

During police questioning, Lee expressed that he was stressed after losing his job recently, while he had opened the door because he felt uncomfortable and wanted to get out quickly."

Suspension of exit row seat sales

In response to the incident, Asiana Airlines suspended the sale of selected emergency exit row seats of its A321-200 jets as of May 28.

The seats affected are 26A and 31A on 14 A321-200 aircraft.

Emergency exit row seats will still be sold on other aircraft types of the airline.

“The decision was made for the safety of passengers and is applied even when the aircraft is full," said Asiana Airlines in a statement cited by the Korea Times.

Two other airlines, Air Seoul and Air Premia, were also contemplating the suspension of exit row seats in light of the incident.

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Top image via abc7.com