Concerns are being raised about the absence of a control tower as a major accident occurred with a Jeju Air passenger plane landing at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province, making it urgent for relevant ministries to respond. This is because the government, including the president, as well as the Minister of the Interior and Safety and the head of the Korean National Police Agency, are all operating under acting positions. Among the relevant ministries, the Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is still maintaining the position.
According to relevant ministries on the 29th, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Choi Sang-mok, who is serving as the acting president, arrived at the Central Disaster Management Center for the Muan aircraft accident set up at the Government Complex Seoul at around 9:50 a.m. Choi instructed related agencies to 'mobilize all available equipment and personnel to make every effort in rescue operations.'
Acting president Choi activated the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, with himself as the Deputy Minister, to commence response efforts. Park Sang-woo, Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, was appointed as the first deputy, and Ko Ki-dong, the acting Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, as the second deputy. Choi ordered the mobilization of government capacity, rapid response, and the formulation of measures to manage the accident. Additionally, a site situation manager was promptly dispatched to support on-site accident management.
However, there is concern that confusion may arise during the accident management process. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance, led by Acting President Choi, is issuing messages, but it's reported that actions such as receiving situation reports and issuing urgent directives to related agencies are being conducted in cooperation with the presidential office and the prime minister's office. This implies that there is little that the finance ministry can directly verify and handle.
Other ministries are also managing the accident under acting roles. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety entered an acting position system after former Minister Lee Sang-min expressed intention to resign on Dec. 8, following the martial law crisis on Dec. 3. The Korean National Police Agency has Lee Ho-young serving as acting commissioner since the national assembly passed the impeachment motion against former commissioner Cho Ji-ho on Dec. 12.
The Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which is the primary ministry concerned, is maintaining the position. Minister Park Sang-woo held a briefing related to the aircraft accident at the Government Complex Sejong and explained the progress of the investigation. The ministry decided to hold press briefings every hour to announce related details.
Concerns are growing that the government may not be able to properly perform its role due to the unstable political situation. Roh Jong-myung, a floor spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, remarked on a broadcast with Kim Eo-jun on the 23rd that 'one method could be to simultaneously impeach cabinet members based on whether they were in a cabinet meeting just before the declaration of martial law.'
A government official noted, 'If the impeachment of cabinet members continues, vice ministers will take over as acting ministers, and the government will move to the next stage, but it seems evident that government operations will be constrained.'
The accident occurred at around 9:07 a.m. when an aircraft landing at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province veered off the runway and collided with the external fence. The aircraft involved in the accident was Jeju Air Flight 7C 2216, arriving at Muan from Bangkok, Thailand, and carrying 175 passengers and 6 crew members, resulting in numerous casualties.