A year on, no clear answers in the Muan Airport disaster

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A year on, no clear answers in the Muan Airport disaster

Published: 29 Dec. 2025, 00:00

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

The tail section of the aircraft in the Jeju Air disaster is lifted by a crane at the crash site at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on the afternoon of Jan. 3, six days after the crash. [NEWS1]

Monday marks one year since a Jeju Air passenger jet operating Flight 2216 from Thailand crashed while attempting to land at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla. Of the 181 people on board, including 175 passengers and six crew members, only two crew members survived. The remaining 179 on board were killed in what became one of the deadliest aviation disasters in Korea. Yet a full year later, authorities have failed to present even a definitive account of what caused the accident, fueling doubts among bereaved families about the independence and objectivity of the investigation.

After the crash, the government established the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to conduct a wide-ranging probe. The ministry initially announced that the aircraft suffered a bird strike shortly before landing, with bird feathers found in the engines. Both engines were later sent to France for detailed analysis by the manufacturer, CFM International. Based on those findings, the investigation board disclosed an interim assessment to families in July, stating that the pilot shut down the left engine rather than the severely damaged right one following the bird strike.

Families strongly objected, arguing that the statement appeared to shift responsibility onto the pilot. The board subsequently withdrew the interim briefing. Months have passed since then, but no comprehensive and official conclusion on the cause of the crash has been released. One year on, the case remains officially “under investigation.”

Establishing the cause of an accident is the first step toward preventing similar tragedies. When fact-finding stalls, follow-up measures are inevitably weakened. The crash drew criticism that the aircraft, after making a belly landing partway down the runway, struck a localizer structure installed beyond the runway, triggering a fire that worsened the disaster. Acknowledging these concerns, the government announced in April that it would replace embankments outside runways at seven airports with breakaway structures designed to absorb impact energy.

Eight months later, however, improvements at five of the seven sites remain unfinished. The delay raises an unavoidable question about what authorities have accomplished in the year since the crash.

The lack of a clear investigative conclusion has also left criminal accountability adrift. A task force formed by the South Jeolla Provincial Police Agency searched Jeju Air’s Seoul office and questioned more than 50 people, including the airline’s chief executive, senior executives and air traffic control officials at Muan Airport. Yet no one has been indicted in connection with the case. Without an official determination of responsibility by transport authorities, legal proceedings have effectively stalled.

Families of the victims have consistently questioned the independence of the investigation board, noting that it includes current and former officials from the Transport Ministry. In response, the National Assembly revised the relevant law, and a new investigation board under the Prime Minister’s office is expected to be launched early next year.

The government must now rebuild trust by appointing objective and neutral experts and delivering findings that the public can accept. A year after the tragedy, the families of the victims are still waiting for answers.

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.