Minister Park Sang-woo attends the full meeting of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Dec. 14, reporting on the current issues related to the Dec. 29 aircraft disaster. /Courtesy of News1

Minister Park Sang-woo of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 14th that measures would be implemented to ensure that accidents like the Jeju Air passenger plane accident at Muan International Airport do not happen again, by promptly improving facilities that raise safety concerns and diagnosing safety conditions in the airline sector while reflecting diverse opinions to establish aviation safety innovation measures.

On that day, Minister Park attended the National Assembly's Land and Transport Committee's meeting on the '12·29 passenger plane accident related report,' and said, 'As the minister in charge of aviation safety, I feel deeply sorry and heartbroken.'

Minister Park stated, 'The government will spare no support for the victims, including bereaved families and the injured, until they overcome the pain of the accident and return to their daily lives, based on a dedicated organization and a special law to be discussed in the National Assembly.' He noted, 'It is the government’s duty to fairly and transparently identify the cause of the accident and establish countermeasures to prevent such accidents from occurring again, in honor of the victims' noble spirits.'

Joo Jong-wan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Aviation Policy Office, reported that day on the overview of the passenger plane accident, the extent of damage, initial response, support system for bereaved families, and the current status of the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Committee's investigation. Currently, the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), key devices for identifying the cause of the accident, are undergoing detailed analysis after the investigator returned from the United States the previous day. Both devices lost the records of the four minutes prior to the accident. Analyses are also being conducted on materials such as transcripts of communications with air traffic controllers, Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage, and engine debris.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to release important information on the accident investigation process in a timely manner after consulting with representatives of bereaved families and to accept written opinions related to the investigation as much as possible. Additionally, to ensure the independence of the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Committee in the future, there are plans to transfer its affiliation outside of the ministry or to grant it independent budgetary authority.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport carried out special inspections on six airlines possessing the same aircraft model as the one involved in the accident, confirming that two airlines exceeded the inspection cycle or failed to comply with maintenance procedures. Inspections of navigational safety facilities at 13 airports nationwide revealed that Gwangju Airport, Yeosu Airport, and Pohang-Gyeongju Airport have concrete embankments for directional facilities (localizers) similar to those at Muan Airport. It was found that Kimhae and Sacheon Airports have concrete supports, and Jeju Airport has an H-beam steel structure, indicating a need for improvements. The ministry plans to establish improvement plans for navigational safety facilities at these six airports by this month and push to complete the improvements within the year.

The ministry is also considering the introduction of bird detection radar and the Runway Safety Area System (EMAS). A 'Aviation Safety Innovation Committee' composed of private experts will be established to formulate improvement measures for the entire aviation system. Deputy Minister Joo stated, 'We will continue to manage aviation safety by devising additional safety enhancement measures based on issues that arise after the investigation committee determines the cause of the accident.'

The government plans to hold a joint memorial service on the 18th at 11 a.m. in the second-floor lobby of Muan Airport. On the 20th, a joint support group for the '12·29 passenger plane accident victims' will be formed with relevant organizations to aid victims, including bereaved families and the injured.