On the 29th, the crash of a Jeju Air passenger plane at Mokpo International Airport occurred while attempting to land on its belly. The aircraft failed to reduce speed and collided with the grassy verge at the end of the runway, resulting in significant casualties. Given that Mokpo Airport is also close to a migratory bird habitat, the possibility of bird strikes has been continuously raised. Negligence in maintenance by low-cost carriers (LCCs) and excessive flight schedules were also well-known issues within the aviation industry. All of these factors have been suggested as the background of this incident and can ultimately be interpreted as a tragedy caused by a complex sense of 'indifference.' Some experts pointed out that if the runway had been longer, the explosion could have been prevented, and such a disaster would not have occurred.
Mokpo International Airport began construction in 1999. Following a 1993 incident where an Asiana Airlines passenger plane crashed into a hillside in Jeollanam-do while approaching Mokpo Airport, there was a public outcry to build a new airport in 'Mokpo.' Various local organizations, including Mokpo civic groups, emphasized the geographic features of Mokpo, which rarely experiences dense fog, and advocated for the construction of the new airport.
Mangun-myeon in Mokpo County was highly regarded in the feasibility study at the time, as it has only 16 days of fog throughout the year, and the area was flat with no high mountains, thus eliminating any visual impairment factors during takeoff and landing. The reason Japan established a military airfield in Mokpo in August 1944 was also rooted in these conditions, as Japan aimed at expanding its presence in China. Though construction was halted after the end of the war, it was confirmed that there were remnants such as hangars up until the start of construction.
Since its opening, Mokpo International Airport has been noted as a representative regional airport that is criticized for wasteful spending of taxpayer money. The airport was built under political rationale despite nearby regional airports. Due to lack of passengers, it was referred to as 'the airport for drying peppers.' The actual number of passengers last year at Mokpo International Airport was just 246,000, far below the initial forecast of 9.92 million annual users before the airport was constructed.
Although the passenger count was low, proposals to extend Mokpo International Airport's runway have existed since the start of construction in 1999. Designed as a southwest regional international airport, it needed to accommodate large aircraft such as Boeing 747s flying to and from the U.S. and Europe. At that time in 1999, Kim Hong-il, a member of the National Assembly's Construction and Transportation Committee (now the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport), officially requested that the runway length design be modified and extended before construction began. Mokpo County Council and the city of Mokpo requested a budget of 30 billion won for the runway extension. In 2003, the then-Ministry of Construction and Transportation (now the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport) rejected this request, stating, 'Due to insufficient demand for long-haul routes except Incheon International Airport, it is not easy to establish routes at other airports.'
The opening date of Mokpo International Airport was postponed by five years from the original schedule. The airport was initially set to open in 2002, but delays due to budget cuts and disputes over construction of access roads led to its opening in November 2007. Even after the airport opened, discussions regarding runway extension continued. Jeollanam-do has consistently requested the budget necessary to extend the runway to 3.2 km. It was not until 2019 that Jeollanam-do managed to secure a budget of 2 billion won related to the Mokpo International Airport design, allowing extension work to proceed.
In 2021, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport included the runway extension project of Mokpo International Airport in its basic plan, accelerating the process. The total budget allocated for the Mokpo International Airport runway extension project is 49.2 billion won. Subsequently, construction was underway to extend the runway to 3.126 km, aiming for completion next year, and due to this construction, approximately 300 meters of the Mokpo International Airport runway were unavailable at the time of the accident.
After this tragedy, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport explained, 'The runway length is not the cause of the accident, especially since it is longer than other international airports like Cheongju Airport (2,744 m) and Daegu Airport (2,755 m).'
Concerns about the potential for bird strikes have always been raised due to Mokpo International Airport's proximity to migratory bird habitats. In Hyun-gyeong-myeon and Unnam-myeon of Mokpo County, a 113.34 square kilometer area of the Mokpo tidal flat wetland protection zone has been established, where more than 12,000 migratory birds have been observed in winter. Mokpo International Airport has the highest rate of bird strikes among 14 airports in the country, excluding Incheon International Airport. The occurrence rate of bird strikes relative to the number of operations at Mokpo International Airport is 0.09%, significantly higher than at Jeju Airport (0.013%) and Gimpo Airport (0.018%).
During the strategic environmental impact assessment of Mokpo International Airport, concerns were raised about the risk of aircraft colliding with birds. A report from 2020 stated, 'There is a significant risk of bird strikes when aircraft take off and land,' and recommended that 'mitigation measures are necessary.' Specific countermeasures were proposed, such as establishing noise makers or alarms, and using lasers, flags, or LED lights, but it is reported that these measures were not properly implemented.
Some voices suggest that the cause of the accident lies not with Mokpo International Airport, but with the airline's negligence in maintenance and excessive flight schedules. It is formalized that low-cost carriers (LCCs) such as Jeju Air adhere to minimal maintenance usage and create tight schedules that overwork aircraft. The aircraft involved in the accident had flown to four cities in different countries—Kota Kinabalu, Nagasaki, Taipei, and Bangkok—just the day before the accident.