Muan bird strike prevention zone was less than half of legally required distance, say lawmakers
Published: 14 Jan. 2026, 18:50
![The remains of a Jeju Air aircraft that crashed at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on Dec. 29, 2024, are pictured on Jan. 3, 2025. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/14/58b47999-6885-45f1-bb63-9ae525402d35.jpg)
The remains of a Jeju Air aircraft that crashed at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on Dec. 29, 2024, are pictured on Jan. 3, 2025. [NEWS1]
Muan International Airport failed to comply with Korean aviation safety rules by limiting its bird strike prevention zone to less than half the legally required distance before a Jeju Air crash that killed 179 people in 2024, lawmakers investigating the disaster said on Wednesday.
Documents submitted by the Korea Airports Corporation showed that the airport set the scope of its bird strike risk management plan to within a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) radius at the time of the accident, according to Rep. Jeon Jin-sook. Jeon is a lawmaker from the Democratic Party (DP) and a member of the National Assembly’s special committee investigating the crash.
Korean law requires airports to manage bird strike risks within a 13-kilometer radius. A directive issued by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport mandates that airports assess bird habitats, species, population sizes and movement patterns within that zone and incorporate the findings into formal risk management plans.
“The Muan airport risk management plan states that the management scope was set at 5 kilometers rather than the legally required 13 kilometers,” Jeon said. “[Authorities] must examine whether legal standards were properly followed at every stage, from setting the scope of the bird strike risk management plan to the information provided to pilots.”
![Police special operations officers and forensic investigators conduct final search operations at the crash site of a Jeju Air passenger plane at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on Jan. 4, 2025, seven days after the deadly accident. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/14/76219118-842d-4345-9fce-c2b55cf5b6fe.jpg)
Police special operations officers and forensic investigators conduct final search operations at the crash site of a Jeju Air passenger plane at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on Jan. 4, 2025, seven days after the deadly accident. [YONHAP]
Separately, lawmakers said the engine model installed on the crashed aircraft had been subject to repeated mandatory safety actions in the years leading up to the accident.
Jeong Joon-ho, another DP lawmaker, said data submitted by the transport ministry showed that the engine model mounted on the Boeing 737-800 involved in the crash received five mandatory safety improvement directives between November 2020 and March 2024. One of those measures fell into a category requiring urgent action.
Known as Airworthiness Directives, the measures resemble recalls and require airlines to carry out inspections, part replacements, repairs or modifications to correct unsafe conditions in aircraft, engines or components.
The parliamentary special committee to which Reps. Jeon and Jeong belong plans to begin a full-scale investigation this week. It will receive briefings on Thursday from the transport ministry, the Ministry of Interior and Safety and the National Police Agency.
The panel will visit the crash site next Tuesday for an on-site inspection and a meeting with victims’ families. Lawmakers will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. on Jan. 22 to question summoned witnesses about the cause of the crash and responsibility. The committee aims to adopt its final report on Jan. 27.
![Officials from the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board conduct an on-site inspection of a localizer while investigating the cause of a Jeju Air passenger plane crash at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on April 22, 2025. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/14/028650eb-7ccd-4701-9ac4-4e2ee777f130.jpg)
Officials from the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board conduct an on-site inspection of a localizer while investigating the cause of a Jeju Air passenger plane crash at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on April 22, 2025. [YONHAP]
Attention has also focused on the localizer, a navigational aid that helps guide aircraft during landing and that investigators say worsened the impact of the crash. For about a year, the transport ministry had maintained that the facility complied with regulations before recently acknowledging that it failed to meet required standards.
A simulation commissioned by the transport ministry showed that if the localizer had used a frangible, breakaway structure rather than a concrete embankment, the crash would likely have resulted in no serious injuries.
The Jeju Air passenger jet attempted a belly landing at Muan International Airport at about 9:03 a.m. on Dec. 29, 2024. The aircraft struck a concrete embankment housing the localizer and exploded. The crash killed 179 people, making it the deadliest air accident on Korean soil.
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 HWANG HEE-GYU [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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