South Korean authorities have raided the Transport Ministry headquarters as public scrutiny intensifies over the handling of the country’s deadliest air disaster.
The move comes more than two months after Jeju Air Flight 2216 overshot the runway at Muan International Airport on 29 December 2024, killing 179 of the 181 passengers on board.
Initial investigations revealed that a bird strike had disabled one of the Boeing 737-800’s engines, and the plane’s collision with a concrete mound at the airport turned the incident into a fatal fireball.
Authorities have faced growing criticism for how the crash and recovery were managed, especially after the recent discovery of human remains and victims’ belongings stored alongside rubble from the site.
Police entered the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport offices in Sejong on Friday, seeking new leads on both the crash’s cause and whether officials had acted appropriately during recovery operations, according to Yonhap news agency.
The search is part of the main government investigation ordered by President Lee Jae Myung, with findings expected by mid-2026.
Several parallel probes are also ongoing, including parliamentary inquiries and investigations by multiple agencies. Families of the victims have long demanded a re-examination of the rubble removed from the site, claiming authorities mishandled remains.
The recent discovery of body parts and personal effects triggered widespread public anger and prompted Lee to order a review of why the materials had gone undetected for so long.
The president also directed disciplinary action against those responsible for delays in recovering human remains. The transport ministry issued an apology for its handling of the incident, but families have refused to accept it.
“We are appalled by the transport ministry's late and inadequate apology, which the families say is like killing the victims a second time,” a family representative told local media.
Earlier this week, a separate audit board inquiry revealed that the concrete mound the plane struck was built to cut costs. Muan International Airport, constructed on sloped terrain, required an antenna system for navigation. Instead of flattening the ground, which would have been costlier, authorities installed the system within a raised concrete structure.
The audit board said such structures should be designed to break on impact, preventing disasters. Simulations suggest that all 181 passengers could have survived if the aircraft had avoided the concrete mound.
After the plane encountered a flock of migratory ducks, pilots managed to land the aircraft on its belly and slide along the runway, only to collide with the raised structure.
In response, aviation authorities have since removed similar concrete navigation structures from seven other airports to prevent future tragedies.