Seven Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) officials have been referred to prosecutors on suspicion of drafting false press materials claiming that the localizer antenna mounted on a concrete embankment at Muan International Airport had been installed in line with regulations. It is the first referral of any figure to prosecutors since the December 29, 2024 passenger jet disaster. Investigators are still pursuing possible charges of professional negligence resulting in death or injury, which would address the cause of the crash and responsibility for the scale of the casualties.
The National Police Agency's National Office of Investigation said on the 26th, in an interim announcement of its findings, that its special investigation unit on the December 29 disaster had referred the seven serving MOLIT officials the previous day on charges of preparing and using false official documents. The group includes senior ministry officials but not the minister or vice minister who held office at the time.
The officials are accused of drafting press reference materials twice, on December 30 and 31, 2024, the days after the crash, stating that the Muan airport localizer had been installed in accordance with the relevant regulations, even though they knew the installation violated domestic and international rules. The materials were distributed to reporters covering the ministry.
Police concluded that the officials deliberately omitted domestic and international rules requiring localizers to be built so they break apart easily on impact, and selectively cited only the provisions favorable to the ministry. They also said they had found indications that the officials organized a coordinated set of talking points after distributing the materials in order to maintain their position that there was nothing wrong with the localizer installation.
The special unit opened a pre-booking inquiry in February after the National Assembly's special committee on uncovering the truth about the December 29 disaster raised allegations that the ministry had played down or covered up the cause of the crash. It then searched ministry offices and the officials involved twice in connection with the false press materials, seized meeting records and questioned those who drafted and reviewed the documents as well as their supervisors.
Police have booked a total of 74 people in connection with the disaster so far. The case referred this time covers only the alleged offenses tied to press materials produced after the crash, and investigations continue into possible negligence in the installation and upgrading of the localizer, airport operations and the response to the accident. Police said they referred the false-document case first because they judged it could be handled separately from the negligent homicide inquiry.
On the cause of the crash itself, an inquiry into how the decision to install the localizer was made when Muan airport opened is under way. The special unit said it obtained records allowing it to examine the decision-making structure at the time of the opening for the first time only on the 11th of this month, through an additional search and seizure. "Questions were raised about the various problems with the localizer at the time of the opening and whether the airport could have proceeded to opening at all, and through the search and seizure we identified some records that allow us to look at the decision-making process at that time," an official at the special unit said.
According to the unit, the runway end safety area at Muan airport was set at 204 meters when the airport opened in 2007, measured in the direction of the crash and including the point where the localizer antenna stands. But when the airport's operating rules were revised in 2014, the area was reduced to 199 meters in the direction of the crash and 202 meters in the opposite direction. Police believe the area in the crash direction shrank by 5 meters when the localizer and the slope were excluded from the safety area, and they are investigating how that reduction was decided and approved.
A final announcement of the investigation's results is expected to take more time. The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board, under the Prime Minister's Office, is conducting a broad review of how the localizer structure and the fire and explosion contributed to the scale of the casualties. Police said they would continue their investigation taking the board's findings into account.
Bereaved families pushed back, saying the investigation into the false official documents must be clearly distinguished from the inquiry into the direct cause of a disaster that killed 179 people and the criminal responsibility for it. They also said authorities must disclose how far the core investigation into the direct causes has progressed, including the possibility of a mechanical defect, Jeju Air's responsibility for maintenance and flight operations, whether the pilots were at fault, and the adequacy of training and emergency procedures. The families urged investigators to continue the inquiry responsibly until the cause of the disaster and criminal responsibility are established.
