1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
In focus
German election 2025Crisis in the Middle EastSyria
Latest audioLatest videos
Live TV
Law and JusticeSouth Korea

South Korea: Police raid Muan airport, Jeju Air offices

January 2, 2025

The airplane crash from the Thailand to South Korea flight claimed the lives of 179 of the 181 people on board. Investigators have suggested a bird strike could have led to engine failure.

https://p.dw.com/p/4ok7A
Jeju Air plane crashed into airport embankment
Police raided three premises as they sought further answers following the Jeju Air crashImage: Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo/picture alliance

South Korean police raided Muan International Airport on Thursday morning where a Jeju Air plane had crashed on Sunday, local Yonhap news agency reported.

In a statement reported on by the AFP news agency, police said: "In relation to the plane accident that occurred on December 29, a search and seizure operation is being conducted from 9 a.m. on January 2 at three locations."

The statement added: "The police plan to swiftly and rigorously determine the cause and responsibility for this accident in accordance with the law and principles."

The locations under scrutiny include Muan Airport, the Jeju Air office in Seoul and a regional aviation office.

Police also banned Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae from leaving South Korea. 

A Jeju Air spokesperson said the company was assessing the situation.

Inspections of Boeing plans ongoing

Earlier on Thursday, South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok told a disaster management meeting that the conversion of data from the Jeju Air 7C2216 cockpit voice recorder to an audio file would be finished by Friday.

After the plane's landing gear failed, the aircraft belly-landed at Muan International Airport before crashing into an earth-and-concrete embankment and bursting into flames. 

South Korea mourns Muan plane crash victims

Immediately after the accident, South Korea announced that all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country's carriers would be subjected to special inspections, focusing on the landing gear.

"As there's great public concern about the same aircraft model involved in the accident, the transport ministry and relevant organisations must conduct a thorough inspection of operation maintenance, education, and training," Choi said on Thursday.

His comments, which came at the beginning of the meeting, were passed on to media by the acting president's office.

The aircraft's flight data recorder, which sustained some damage, has been taken to the United States for analysis in cooperation with the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The NTSB, the US Federal Aviation Administration and the maker of the aircraft, Boeing, have all sent investigators to South Korea to help probe the worst air disaster in the country's history.

Choi added that no effort would be spared in helping the families of the victims.

km/jsi (AFP, Reuters)