South Korea Seeks Indictment of Seven Officials Over Jeju Air Crash
South Korean police seek indictments of seven ministry officials for allegedly falsifying documents about the concrete structure involved in the Jeju Air crash.
South Korean police announced on Thursday that they are seeking the indictment of seven transport ministry officials in connection with the December 2024 Jeju Air crash, which claimed the lives of 179 of the 181 people on board.
The Boeing 737-800 aircraft skidded off the runway at Muan International Airport after its landing gear failed to deploy. It subsequently struck a concrete embankment and burst into flames.
Investigators have found traces of bird strikes in the plane's engines, and the flight data and cockpit voice recorders stopped functioning roughly four minutes before the impact. Aviation experts have also pointed to the concrete structure—which housed a localizer antenna system used for guiding landings—as a contributing factor, arguing it should have been built with materials that would break more easily upon impact.
Police allege the seven officials were involved in producing media statements claiming the localizer was installed in accordance with all relevant domestic and international regulations, a claim they say was false. The cases have been referred to prosecutors, who are being asked to charge the officials with falsifying official documents, an offense that carries a potential prison sentence of up to seven years.
The transport ministry declined to comment on the police announcement. Police are also investigating nearly 70 other individuals, including those involved in the localizer's installation and the operation of Muan airport.
The crash stands as South Korea's deadliest aviation disaster since 1997. No formal cause has been announced, and no one has been prosecuted to date. Last year, the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board planned to release preliminary findings indicating both engines had sustained bird strikes and that pilots had shut down the less-damaged engine just before the crash landing. That announcement was cancelled after strong objections from bereaved families and pilots, who accused authorities of attempting to shift blame onto the deceased flight crew.