The Ministry of Education noted that out of 179 fatalities in the Jeju Air passenger plane accident that occurred at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province, 11 were elementary, middle, and high school students.
Koo Yeon-hee, the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, said at a regular briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong that the fatalities in the Jeju Air passenger accident were counted as 4 elementary school students, 3 middle school students, and 4 high school students, respectively.
Additionally, it was confirmed that a child born in 2021 attending a daycare center also perished.
Spokesperson Koo said regarding the residential areas of the victim students, while regional aggregates are not available, it includes five places by educational office: South Jeolla, North Jeolla, Gwangju, Sejong, and Gyeonggi. He also mentioned that they are currently investigating whether there are any college students among the victims, but it has not yet been compiled.
Since the accident occurred the previous day, the Ministry of Education has formed an eight-member dedicated situation management team to continuously monitor the situation. Additionally, they plan to maintain a 24-hour emergency contact system with the educational offices until the situation is resolved.
Spokesperson Koo said, if necessary, they will cooperate with the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to provide academic support or psychological therapy to the bereaved families or friends of the victim students.