Families of Jeju Air crash victims to protest at presidential office, new investigation demanded

Family members of those who died in the 2024 Jeju Air crash at Muan International Airport, which killed 179 people, are launching an overnight sit-in in front of the presidential office, demanding a new investigation into the tragedy.

Families of victims from the Jeju Air crash at Muan International Airport march toward the presidential office on Nov. 1. [NEWS1]

Family members of those who died in the 2024 Jeju Air crash at Muan International Airport, which killed 179 people, are launching an overnight sit-in in front of the presidential office, demanding a new investigation into the tragedy.

The victims’ families claim the current inquiry, led by the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (Araib) under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, lacks credibility due to government influence. They are calling for the probe to be transferred to the Prime Minister's Secretariat, under the Office for Government Policy Coordination.

The families plan to hold a head-shaving protest and begin their sit-in outside the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Monday. They also plan to hold a candlelight vigil in the evening.

“The bereaved families will fight to the end,” the group for the family members said in a statement Sunday. “After the head-shaving protest, we will immediately begin an outdoor sit-in.”

The families argue that it is inappropriate for a board under the Land Ministry to investigate a case that could expose the ministry’s own responsibility.

Officials from the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board inspect the localizer facility at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on April 22. [YONHAP]

“Araib, which is part of the Land Ministry, claimed it was conducting a fact-finding probe but disclosed no meaningful information to the families,” said Kim Yu-jin, head of the victims’ association, during a parliamentary audit in October. “Since the crash, we haven’t received a single line of truth or a single page of data.”

The Jeju Air plane that crashed and killed 179 people on Dec. 29, 2024, was coming back from Bangkok, Thailand. It erupted into flames after crashing into the localizer's concrete mound as it overshot the runway when it made an emergency belly landing at the airport on Dec. 29 last year.

Kim Yu-jin, head of the victims’ association told the JoongAng Ilbo in July that the ministry "outsourced the investigation of the concrete structure housing the localizer at Muan International Airport through a private contract for just 100 million won ($72,520), claiming the ministry lacked funds."

Snow piles up on the embankment near the localizer at Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Jeolla, on Jan. 9, the 12th day since the Jeju Air passenger plane crash. [YONHAP]

“They reportedly allocated 1 billion won for a first anniversary memorial concert and monument to honor the victims," said Kim. "But what really matters is uncovering the cause of the crash. That money should instead be used to thoroughly reinvestigate the localizer.”

Araib plans to announce its interim findings in a public hearing set for Thursday and Friday. The report is expected to include research results on the effects of a bird strike and an analysis of the airport’s localizer facility at the airport.

The families condemned the move, calling it “an attempt to downplay and cover up the tragedy and rush the investigation to a close.”

Workers are seen at the wreckage of a Jeju Air passenger aircraft that crashed at Muan International Airport on Dec. 29, 2024, on Jan. 4. [NEWS1]

A public hearing is to be held only after completing a factual report and a technical review meeting, according to Araib's procedure manual. The board, however, said it decided to hold the hearing first “to reflect public interest in the case.”

A bill to separate Araib from the Land Ministry has been submitted to the National Assembly, but deliberation has been delayed.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY KIM CHUL-WOONG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]