Seoul: The lack of specific guidelines on the recovery of remains, coupled with insufficient oversight at the scene, led to the failure to fully recover the remains of victims in the 2024 Jeju Air plane crash for more than a year, a government investigation showed Thursday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Office for Government Policy Coordination stated that the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board violated related regulations by keeping pieces of the wreckage mixed with remains in burlap bags at unroofed open spaces. Furthermore, they failed to respond promptly to requests from bereaved families for a reinvestigation.
Announcing the results of a one-month investigation, the office revealed it has referred 12 related officials for disciplinary measures-four from the transport ministry, six from the accident investigation board, one from police, and one from a firefighting agency.
The Jeju Air crash on December 29, 2024, claimed 179 lives when the jet made an emergency belly landing at Muan International Airport, approximately 290 kilometers south of Seoul, and caught fire after crashing into a concrete mound. It remains the deadliest plane crash in South Korea's history.
In recent months, remains of the victims were discovered sequentially, more than a year after the crash, after the government initiated a reinvestigation into the plane's wreckage in February to help determine the exact cause of the tragedy.
Bereaved families expressed outrage over the discovery that bone pieces and other remains had been left unattended for such a long period, some in ton bags or gunny sacks. This prompted the transport minister to offer an apology and President Lee Jae Myung to order a thorough investigation into the negligence and accountability.
A comprehensive operation was subsequently launched to thoroughly search the crash site and recover any additional remains and items belonging to the victims. So far, hundreds of additional pieces of remains and other items believed to belong to the victims have been recovered.
"The investigation has confirmed that the remains of the victims were not fully recovered due to insufficient commanding and oversight by the firefighting and police authorities in a situation where there are no specific guidelines on search and recovery measures in a plane accident," said Kim Young-su, first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, during a press briefing.
Kim noted that the absence of proper manuals resulted in the flawed initial search and recovery efforts. The government plans to have the National Fire Agency and other government offices enhance related regulations to prevent similar incidents in the future.