The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is reportedly investigating potential violations of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act in relation to the Jeju Air crash at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province on the 29th.
A government official said this day that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will investigate potential violations of aviation safety laws by Jeju Air, and will also evaluate whether there were breaches of the serious public accidents regulations in collaboration with the police.
The serious public accident applies when defects in the design, manufacture, installation, or management of public facilities or transport result in at least one death. This can result in a penalty of at least one year in prison or a fine of up to 1 billion won.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport considers aircraft as a public transport means. In the guideline for serious public accidents released ahead of the implementation of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act in 2022, a similar hypothetical example to this incident was used to illustrate. At that time, the Ministry deemed that if an aircraft crashes due to structural defects during landing with at least one fatality, it meets the criteria for the serious public accident scope, cause, and scale. The Ministry stated that the Serious Accidents Punishment Act could be applied based on the results of the investigation with the police.
Meanwhile, the passenger plane involved in the accident had a total of 181 people on board, including 175 passengers and 6 crew members. As of 12:49 p.m. that day, 85 people, including 38 males and 46 females, were confirmed dead, with 2 survivors. The fire authorities are currently investigating the cause of the accident.