The Korean National Police Agency set up a special investigation headquarters to probe the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster at Muan International Airport on Dec. 29, 2024. The South Jeolla Provincial Police Agency led the investigation for more than a year, but with no results, the National Office of Investigation (NOI) stepped in.
The Korean National Police Agency said on the 27th that it will reorganize the investigation headquarters installed at the South Jeolla Provincial Police Agency in connection with the Dec. 29 passenger plane disaster into a special investigation unit under the direct control of the National Office of Investigation (NOI) chief. The special investigation unit will officially begin work on the 29th.
The Director General of the special investigation unit will be Jeong Seong-hak, head of investigations at the South Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency (senior superintendent general). Two Head of Team-level leaders and 48 investigators from the serious industrial accident investigation teams of the criminal mobile units of the Seoul, Incheon, Northern Gyeonggi, and South Jeolla provincial police agencies, the anti-corruption investigation unit of the Southern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency, and the Korean National Police Agency's secondary offense investigation team and digital forensics center will be deployed.
The National Office of Investigation (NOI) said it "considered concerns about investigation delays pointed out during the parliamentary inquiry and the growing need to investigate not only the crash site but also related institutions and companies located in the Seoul metropolitan area," adding that it "deployed experts to ensure the professionalism and objectivity of the investigation."
At the parliamentary inquiry into the Dec. 29 passenger plane disaster, there were repeated criticisms that the police investigation was sluggish. The South Jeolla Provincial Police Agency booked 45 people after the disaster, but not a single suspect has been referred to prosecutors or detained.