Ministry of Health and Welfare Provides Funeral and Psychological Support to Bereaved Families and Victims of Muan Jeju Air Accident

Funeral Directors and Hearse Dispatch, Dedicated Psychological Support Team Formed

On the 29th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it will provide full support for on-site emergency medical care, funeral services, and psychological support for bereaved families and the injured in relation to the Muan Jeju Air passenger plane accident.

On the 29th, a Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 passengers collided with the outer wall of the runway while landing at Muan International Airport, causing a fire that resulted in a major disaster with most passengers dead. Firefighters are searching for missing persons among the wreckage of the accident aircraft on the runway at Muan International Airport, Jeonnam. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

Immediately after receiving the accident report at 9:12 a.m., the Ministry issued a 'Code-Orange' alert and began medical response. Code-Orange corresponds to the third level, "Alert," out of four disaster medical response levels. It is issued when more than 10 casualties have already occurred and there is a significantly high risk of additional casualties, necessitating the start of medical response.

Accordingly, in addition to the Central Emergency Medical Center dispatch team, 14 rapid response teams composed of doctors, nurses, and emergency medical technicians from health centers near the accident site, as well as three Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT) from the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions, have been dispatched to carry out emergency medical activities for the injured and bereaved families.

Funeral support for families is also being provided. At the request of Jeollanam-do, the Ministry dispatched 30 funeral directors and 11 hearses to the accident site and supplied 200 body storage bags for handling the deceased. In case of insufficient storage space, support will be provided to distribute the bodies mainly to nationally designated disaster preparedness funeral homes in Gwangju and Jeonnam (a total of 30 locations, including 4 in Gwangju and 26 in Jeonnam). Furthermore, to facilitate smooth funerals, the Ministry is coordinating with funeral homes and local governments to assess funeral demands at the site.

Additionally, centered on the National Trauma Center, an "Integrated Psychological Support Team for the Jeju Air Passenger Plane Accident" has been formed, where professional personnel will provide psychological first aid to bereaved families and the injured. Following the declaration of Muan as a special disaster area, health insurance premium reductions and exemptions from national pension contributions will be applied to bereaved families and victims, and medical benefits with reduced out-of-pocket expenses will be provided when using hospitals and pharmacies.

Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong stated, "Along with medical support at the accident site, we will mobilize all available resources for psychological and funeral support for the injured and bereaved families."

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