Seoul city announced on 30th that it will ban Hyundai Ocean Leisure from operating cruise ships on the Han River for six months, following the fireworks event they conducted on the day of the Jeju Air flight disaster. Until June next year, Hyundai Ocean Leisure will not be able to operate cruise ships between the Gyeong-in Ara Waterway and Wonhyo Bridge on the Han River. Seoul city also noted that “all cooperative projects will be suspended.”
A 'Han River Hallyu Fireworks Cruise' event was held the previous evening near Yeouido, Seoul. This was part of the '2024 Han River Festival' organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Future Han River Headquarters. Citizens criticized it as an inappropriate event given the occurrence of a major disaster.
Seoul city explained that it requested the cancellation of the event for mourning purposes, but the request was rejected due to pre-existing reservations. Hyundai Ocean Leisure, through CEO Kim Jin-man, issued an apology stating, “We apologize for causing a stir by holding the event during a time when everyone is mourning.”
Earlier, on the morning of the previous day, a Jeju Air flight from Bangkok, Thailand, exploded after colliding with an exterior wall while landing on the runway at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla province. Fire authorities announced that out of the 181 passengers, 179 were killed, with 2 rescued.