Seoul: South Korea’s parliament has approved legislation to launch an independent investigation into the Jeju Air crash that killed 179 people last year. The significant move aims to address growing concerns over transparency and unanswered questions surrounding the country’s deadliest air disaster.
Lawmakers passed the bill on Monday to establish an 18-member parliamentary panel that will examine the December 2024 crash at Muan International Airport, about 288 kilometres south of Seoul. The panel will investigate the causes of the accident and review how the official inquiry was conducted.
The Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 was flying from Bangkok when it ran into trouble during landing. After aborting its initial approach, the aircraft made a belly landing without its landing gear deployed, overshot the runway, and slammed into a concrete embankment at the runway’s end. The impact triggered a massive fire, killing all but two of the 181 people on board.
Under the bill, lawmakers will look into whether sufficient precautions were taken against bird strikes, whether mechanical or engine failures played a role, and whether the embankment struck by the aircraft worsened the outcome. The inquiry will also examine whether any government agency attempted to downplay or conceal findings during the official investigation.
The government-led Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board has yet to release a final report. In an interim update issued in January, the board said both engines had suffered bird strikes. However, a later update reviewed by Reuters in July indicated that the aircraft’s left engine had been shut down despite sustaining less damage than the right engine and may have remained capable of producing thrust.
A separate area of concern has been the embankment supporting navigation equipment at the end of the runway. Aviation experts have said the structure did not meet international standards, which recommend such installations be designed to collapse easily on impact to reduce damage during an accident.
The parliamentary probe follows months of frustration among victims’ families, who have accused authorities of delays and a lack of openness. Planned public hearings were cancelled earlier this month, further fuelling calls for an independent review.
While investigators caution that aviation disasters are usually the result of multiple contributing factors, the decision to launch a separate parliamentary inquiry reflects broader public pressure for accountability and clearer answers nearly a year after the crash.
The committee is expected to begin work immediately, with the power to summon officials, review documents, and reassess key evidence as South Korea seeks to close one of the darkest chapters in its aviation history.
