Seven officials face charges over 'intentional omissions' in Jeju crash press materials

Seven officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport were referred to prosecutors over allegedly false press materials issued following the deadly Jeju Air crash in 2024.

Police say the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport claimed in the press materials that the localizer — which had been cited as a factor in the disaster — was installed in compliance with regulations, despite being aware of regulatory violations and omitting that information.

The seven Transport Ministry officials were referred to prosecutors Tuesday on charges of preparing and using false official documents, the National Office of Investigation's special investigation team on the Jeju Air crash said Wednesday.

The investigation team was launched in January and has since booked 74 people on charges including occupational negligence resulting in death in connection with the crash. This is the first time the team has referred a case to prosecutors.

Following the Jeju Air crash, media reports pointed out that the embankment supporting the localizer at Muan International Airport was made of concrete that would not break upon impact, which worsened consequences of the crash when the aircraft struck it.

The Transport Ministry then prepared and distributed two sets of press materials to 479 reporters on Dec. 30 and 31, 2024, which the police allege to have contained false information about whether the localizer complied with regulations.

In the press material, the ministry explained that localizers need to be mounted on frangible supports, but the localizer at Muan International Airport was installed outside the runway end safety area and therefore was not subject to the requirement. The ministry cited Article 23, Paragraph 1 of its guidelines on aviation obstacle management to support the claim.

The ministry also said that other relevant domestic and international regulations “do not specify requirements for the height or materials of localizers.”

“Paragraph 3 of the same article stipulates that all obstacles on airport grounds must be made frangible regardless of whether they are within a runway end safety area, but the ministry intentionally omitted this fact from the press materials,” the special investigation team said.

The investigation team also said that Korea's airport safety operating standards and guidelines from the International Civil Aviation Organization contain requirements on the materials and height of obstacles, but that the Transport Ministry distorted the facts in its press materials by saying no such regulations existed.

Investigators also found through searches and seizures that an internal document sent from the ministry to the Korea Airports Corporation in January 2025 contained language calling for officials to “review whether the concrete structure was unavoidable and, if no [grounds] are found, acknowledge its illegality at an appropriate time.”

The special investigation team's findings, however, have yet to address why the concrete embankment supporting the localizer was installed or who was responsible for it.

The localizer has come under scrutiny in connection with the Jeju Air crash. The crash occurred on Dec. 29, 2024, when Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, traveling from Bangkok to Muan, crashed while landing at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla. Of the 181 people on board, 179 were killed and two were injured.

“We plan to wrap up the investigation, excluding the findings of the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board, as early as October and by the end of the year at the latest, and consult with prosecutors on whether to refer additional cases,” an official with the special investigation team said.

BY KIM NAM-JUN [[email protected]]