Gov't panel to release interim probe results on Jeju Air crash next month

Firefighters inspect the Jeju Air plane crash site at Muan International Airport, Muan County, South Jeolla Province, Dec. 30. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

A government panel investigating the Jeju Air plane crash in late 2024 said Wednesday it will hold a public hearing early next month to announce the interim results of its investigation.

The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) affiliated with the transport ministry said it will hold the public hearing in Seoul on Dec. 4 and 5 after probing the fatal accident on Dec. 29 last year at Muan International Airport that claimed the lives of 179 passengers and crew members.

But the group of bereaved families vowed to boycott and block the public hearing, questioning the neutrality and independence of the ARAIB.

A Jeju Air jet from Bangkok 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, South Jeolla Province.

The ARAIB said the public hearing, the eighth step of the 12-step aircraft accident investigation process, is intended to confirm the facts investigated so far and conduct technical verification.

The hearing will consist of a session on bird strike and localizer facilities on Dec. 4, and another session on aircraft fuselage and aviation on Dec. 5, the ARAIB said, expecting they can publicly verify the technical questions and the facts that have been confirmed so far.

The bereaved families' group, however, demanded that the public hearing be canceled, saying they cannot trust the investigation results from the ARAIB.

"It's hard to trust the investigation results from the ARAIB, which remains under the influence of the transport ministry, as the ministry itself must take responsibility for the accident," Kim Yu-jin, head of the bereaved families' group, said.

Kim said the bereaved families have demanded the investigation process be suspended until the jurisdiction over the ARAIB is transferred to the prime minister's office.