Muan Airport Disaster? Jeju Air Disaster? ... Stop the Naming Controversy Now

ICAO Principles Include Airlines and Flights
Government Names It 'Jeju Air Passenger Plane Accident'
Some Claim 'Muan Airport Disaster'... Also Stirring Regional Sentiments

On the 29th, wreckage of the aircraft involved in the accident lies on the runway of Muan International Airport in Jeonnam, where a Jeju Air passenger plane carrying 181 passengers collided with the outer wall of the runway during landing, causing a fire that resulted in the deaths of most passengers.

There is an ongoing debate over the name of the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster that occurred at Jeonnam Muan International Airport. Although the government has firmly decided to refer to this disaster as the "Jeju Air passenger plane accident," some YouTubers and netizens argue that it should be called the "Muan Airport disaster."

According to government departments on the 3rd, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Airports Corporation posted a banner on their websites from the early stages of the disaster, containing the phrase "We mourn the victims of the Jeju Air passenger plane accident and offer our deepest condolences to the bereaved families." Local governments such as Gwangju City and Jeonnam Province, where many victims occurred, also named the disaster with the same term and posted messages of condolence on their websites.

ICAO usually includes 'airline' and 'flight'... In principle, it should be called 'Jeju Air Flight 2216 Accident'

Amid the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster that resulted in 179 deaths, local residents visited the joint memorial altar set up at Muan Sports Park near Muan International Airport in Jeollanam-do on the 30th of last month to pay their respects to the victims. Photo by Jang Jin-hyeong

The reason the name was decided this way is related to the practices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), established by the United Nations (UN). This organization typically classifies passenger plane accidents by including the airline and flight number, so in principle, this accident should also be called the "Jeju Air Flight 2216 accident." A similar example is the 2002 crash near Dotaesan Mountain close to Gimhae Airport, where 129 passengers died; that accident was named the "China Eastern Airlines Flight 129 crash." Although this accident caused the largest loss of life in the history of domestic civil aviation before the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster, it is not referred to as the "Gimhae Airport accident."

However, some YouTubers and netizens insist on calling this disaster the "Muan Airport disaster" despite the cause not being clearly determined. Some even use terms that provoke regional sentiments, showing no hesitation in using expressions that hurt the victims, bereaved families, and local residents. Experts point out that it is inappropriate to use a name that places all the accident responsibility on the airport when the exact cause has not yet been revealed.

Go Seung-hee, a former Boeing 737 captain and professor in the Department of Aviation Operations at Silla University, told Yonhap News, "If you ask for the correct name of this accident, it is 'Jeju Air Flight 2216 accident,'" adding, "I find it hard to understand the controversy over whether the airport name should be included." He continued, "Since the matter is still under investigation, I am cautious, but there are many regrettable points when watching the accident footage. The cause of the accident seems to be complex, so it is difficult to pinpoint just one fault. Therefore, I think it is not a matter to dispute the name until the cause is revealed."

On the other hand, Kim Geon-han, legal committee member of the Civil Pilots Association, expressed a different view, saying, "It is correct to call it the 'Jeju Air Flight 2216 accident' up until the aircraft made a belly landing on the runway and 'overran' (meaning the aircraft went beyond the runway end during landing), but it is not awkward to call the collision with the localizer concrete structure the 'Muan Airport accident.'" He added, "Since many casualties occurred after the collision with the structure, it is quite possible that such a name will be used."

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