Lee Han-gyeong, the head of the Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, speaks during the meeting of the Central Safety and Disaster Management Headquarters regarding the Jeju Air passenger plane accident at the Central Disaster and Safety Situation Room in Sejong City on Nov. 13. /Courtesy of News1

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will focus its efforts on innovating the safety system across aviation in light of the accident involving a Jeju Air passenger plane that occurred this year at Muan International Airport in Jeollanam-do. After completing safety inspections related to airlines, airports, air traffic control, and regulations, the ministry will prepare an aviation safety innovation plan by April.

On the 13th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport presented its '2025 business report' under the theme 'Creating a comfortable daily life and a better tomorrow for the people' at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno District, Seoul. The ministry will concentrate on five policy tasks this year: ▲ Safe South Korea ▲ Stable housing for common people ▲ Competitive local era ▲ Convenient and high-quality transportation services ▲ Innovation in the land and transportation industry.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is taking thorough measures to handle the accident involving a Jeju Air passenger plane that occurred on Dec. 29 last year and will innovate the overall safety system in aviation, including operation, air traffic control, and facilities. The ministry is pushing for legislation of a special law to support the bereaved families of the victims with living and medical support, psychological counseling, child care assistance, and memorial services. In addition, a joint dedicated support organization comprising the government, local governments, and public institutions will be established for systematic support for the bereaved families.

To prevent the recurrence of this passenger plane accident, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will objectively identify the cause of the accident. During the investigation process, the ministry will transparently disclose the investigation results to the bereaved families at each stage and will promote the reorganization of the accident investigation committee to strengthen the independence of the accident investigation. A white paper documenting the process of supporting the bereaved families and investigating the accident will also be published.

Along with handling the accident, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will push for a safety innovation across aviation safety. After emergency safety inspections in sectors such as airlines, airports, air traffic control, and regulations, an aviation safety innovation plan will be prepared by April in collaboration with private experts. To this end, the ministry will conduct comprehensive safety inspections of airlines, including low-cost carriers (LCC), by the end of this month and establish special safety inspection plans and facility improvement plans for airports nationwide. Furthermore, special safety inspections will be conducted at 18 air traffic control facilities across the country. Based on the inspection results, the ministry plans to swiftly implement detailed measures in areas such as policies, operations, air traffic control, and facilities. The ministry also plans to identify deficiencies in airport construction and operation guidelines and revise them by the first half of this year.

Last July, the construction site of the apartment complex in Geomdan New Town by GS Engineering and Construction. /Courtesy of Yonhap News

In addition to aviation, safety management in the construction sector will be strengthened. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will enhance safety management in the construction sector by establishing new qualifications for structural engineers and selecting nationally certified supervisors. To prevent safety accidents caused by insufficient structural design, like the incident in Geomdan, the ministry plans to create a new qualification for structural engineers responsible for building structural calculations in the first half of the year. To enhance the expertise of supervisors responsible for on-site oversight, the nation will initially select 400 highly qualified supervisors in the second half of the year.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will also improve transportation in vulnerable areas, such as the electric vehicle battery certification system. To prepare for electric vehicle fires, a pilot project will be launched in April for a battery management system (BMS) that diagnoses the battery and automatically notifies the fire authorities in cases of danger. The government will implement battery certification to verify compliance with safety standards and will manage battery history by registering battery identification numbers.

To prevent safety accidents caused by extreme weather, such as the flooding incident in Osong underground underpass, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will enhance the rainfall design frequency for road facilities. The rainfall design frequency for drainage facilities in vulnerable sections will be increased from 50 years to 100 years, and for slope drainage facilities, from 20 years to 30 years. In addition, to prevent accidents caused by ground subsidence, like the sinkhole incident in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun District, the ministry will shorten inspection intervals in high-risk areas, such as aging water pipelines, and will expand the ground exploration support project from the existing 2,300 kilometers to 3,200 kilometers to focus on managing vulnerable sections.