"Why Only Now"... Bereaved Families Frustrated with Jeju Air Executives Arriving Late at the Scene

Management Visits Muan Airport 11 Hours After Accident
Despite Apologies, Bereaved Families Remain Cold... "Would It Be Late Even for Their Own Family?"

On the 29th, Chae Hyung-seok, Vice Chairman of Aekyung Group (center), expressed condolences to the bereaved families and discussed future support measures with Kim E-bae, CEO of Jeju Air (to Vice Chairman Chae's left), and Ko Jun, CEO of AK Holdings, on the second floor of Muan International Airport in Jeonnam.

Eleven hours after a Jeju Air passenger plane crashed at Jeonnam Muan International Airport, Jeju Air executives visited the site, causing the bereaved families to express their frustration.

Kim I-bae, CEO of Jeju Air, Chae Hyung-seok, Vice Chairman of the AK Group, and Ko Jun, CEO of AK Holdings, along with other executives from Jeju Air and its parent company AK Group, appeared at Muan Airport around 8 p.m. on the 29th to offer condolences to the bereaved families and promised to provide full support going forward.

In response, the families showed an agitated reaction, saying the executives arrived at the site far too late. Park Han-shin, the temporary representative of the bereaved families, criticized CEO Kim and Vice Chairman Chae, saying, "We have been looking for Jeju Air officials for a while, but no one showed up," and added, "In a world where you can reach anywhere in three or four hours, what is the point of showing up after 11 hours?" He continued, "They should have come earlier to offer a sincere apology, but I cannot understand this," and pointed out, "Would they delay this way even if their own family members were the victims?"

On the 29th, at the 2nd floor of Muan International Airport in Jeonnam, Han-shin Park, the temporary representative of the bereaved families, is criticizing Jeju Air executives, including Hyeong-seok Chae, Vice Chairman of the Ae Kyung Group (third from the right).

CEO Kim responded, "We were late because we were organizing initial response personnel, supporting the government investigation, and conducting briefings in Seoul," and stated, "We will send 260 support personnel to Muan, assign them to the bereaved families, and support all procedures through the funeral." Lee Jung-seok, Head of Planning at Jeju Air, added, "We arrived early to establish the onsite response headquarters and manage the accident site," and said, "We will take responsibility for and support the requests made by the bereaved families."

The bereaved families also criticized Park Sang-woo, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeonnam Province, who visited the site that day. Minister Park said around 7:30 p.m. at the second floor of Muan Airport, where the families were waiting, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport bears the greatest responsibility for this accident," and added, "We will not evade responsibility and will conduct a swift investigation into the cause of the accident at the ministry level."

However, the families protested that they only received responses stating that identification was still ongoing. A bereaved family member, identified as A, said, "We requested all day to set up a situation room to ask the questions we are curious about, but it still has not been established," and lamented, "Even during briefings, they keep giving the same answer that identification is ongoing, which is very frustrating."

Meanwhile, on that day, Jeju Air flight 7C2216 departed from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, and crashed at Muan Airport around 9:03 a.m. The landing gear failed to deploy, and while attempting a belly landing, the plane was unable to reduce speed and collided with airport structures. Of the 181 people on board (including 6 crew members), 179 died. Two crew members were rescued and transferred to a hospital in Seoul. As of 8:38 p.m. that day, 65 of the 179 deceased had been identified.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.