Jeju Air crash: South Korea sets up independent inquiry into disaster that killed 179 amid delays and acrimony

Original article by Raphael Rashid in Seoul

South Korea’s parliament has launched an independent inquiry into the deadliest air disaster on its soil amid accusations of investigation delays and cover-ups of last year’s Jeju Air crash.

On 29 December 2024 all but two of the 181 people onboard a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 died when it crashed at Muan international airport, 288km south of Seoul, after reporting a bird strike during landing.

The aircraft, flying from Bangkok, belly-landed successfully but then struck a concrete embankment at the runway’s end and exploded into flames.

The 18-member parliamentary committee will spend 40 days investigating the crash, with the possibility of extension if needed, including whether government agencies tried to downplay or conceal evidence during the official inquiry.

The investigation, approved by 245 votes to one on Monday, comes after the government cancelled planned hearings earlier this month amid anger from the victims’ relatives.

Nearly a year after the crash, the families’ fury centres on the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (Araib), which has conducted the official inquiry.

The board reports directly to South Korea’s transport ministry – the same government department responsible for airport safety and the concrete structure that some believe worsened the disaster.

This creates a “structural contradiction where the investigation target is investigating itself”, the families said, violating what they call international aviation standards for independence.

The parliamentary committee will investigate potential bird-strike mismanagement, aircraft defects and the concrete embankment, as well as any government attempts to minimise findings. It will have powers to summon officials from the transport ministry, Korea Airports Corporation, Jeju Air and other agencies for hearings and document submission.

Police are already investigating multiple current and former transport ministry officials in connection with the disaster.

Araib postponed public hearings scheduled for 4-5 December. The hearings were meant to present interim findings, but the families calling the planned proceedings a “self-investigation” designed to “downplay and cover up the disaster”.

An interim statement must be released by 29 December under international aviation regulations if a final report is not possible.

The investigation has been marked by repeated transparency battles.

In July, families disrupted a planned press briefing, claiming they had been briefed that investigators blamed pilot error for mistakenly shutting down a functioning engine following the bird strike.

Last month, a planned re-examination of aircraft wreckage was cancelled after investigators refused to let families photograph the process.

The controversy reflects broader tensions and distrust over how South Korea handles responses to major disasters, including the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush and the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry, both marked by families’ struggles for accountability.