Jeju Air Mechanic Shortage Criticism Met with Ministry of Land's "Reasonable Doubt It Was Treated as a Mere Formality"
Kim Eunhye: "Actual Maintenance Technicians per Aircraft Is 7.5, Not 12.7"
Ministry of Land: "There May Have Been Only Checklist Markings"
Bereaved Families' Representative: "I Am Proud... Do Not Politically Exploit This"
During the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee (Land Committee) inquiry on the 12.29 passenger plane disaster, concerns were raised about whether Jeju Air had a shortage of maintenance personnel. In response, Park Sang-woo, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "There is a reasonable suspicion that the legally required maintenance personnel and maintenance hours might have been treated as mere formalities."
Kim Eun-hye, a member of the Land Committee from the People Power Party, questioned Jeju Air CEO Kim Yi-bae during the inquiry, saying, "I heard that Jeju Air has 522 maintenance personnel, which is about 12.7 per aircraft." She pointed out, "The term 'maintenance personnel' here includes simple office workers or those holding certifications. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's notice, office workers should be excluded from maintenance personnel." She added, "After inspection with the Ministry, Jeju Air's maintenance personnel number is 307. Although it was announced as 12.7 per aircraft, the actual number of maintenance technicians is 7.5."
In response, CEO Kim said, "I apologize. The part implemented according to last year's Ministry notice refers to operational maintenance personnel. The part you mentioned also refers to operational maintenance personnel. Each airline has other personnel besides operational maintenance staff," he explained.
Kim interrupted the CEO, saying, "I don't think the CEO should make technical remarks that would cause the bereaved families to suffer twice." She continued, "According to reports we received, maintenance technicians worked for 13 hours without eating or washing, and before the accident, this aircraft operated 13 times for 35 hours. From my investigation, the average daily operating time per aircraft for Jeju Air is 14 hours, which is the harshest among low-cost carriers (LCCs)." She emphasized that Jeju Air's aircraft operation aimed at maximizing profits led to the disaster. CEO Kim responded, "Taking this opportunity, we will re-examine not only the maintenance personnel but also the overall safety system and devise countermeasures."
Minister Park also explained regarding the reckless operations and regulatory violations by LCCs, "When authorities verify, they will thoroughly examine whether capable maintenance technicians were actually deployed and whether maintenance was performed within the required time through in-depth analysis." He added, "There might have been cases where only checklists were marked. I confess that such parts might have been neglected, and going forward, we will strengthen standards thoroughly to ensure such matters are not handled carelessly."
During the inquiry, there was also a request from the bereaved families to strongly punish indiscriminate slander and defamation against them. Park Han-shin, representative of the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster bereaved families, responded to Rep. Bok Ki-wang's question, "How do the bereaved families feel about the insulting cyber attacks suggesting it was about money?" by saying, "I am proud. Because of some unscrupulous and malicious people, second and third victims are emerging." He added, "My family and I have suffered immense pain and have not yet recovered from it. I ask the government to not treat malicious comments and YouTubers as one-time issues but to punish them thoroughly until the end. I hope those who incite through malicious comments and YouTube, especially those who politically exploit this, will truly disappear."
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During the process of answering the lawmakers' questions that day, Park Han-shin showed tears and also insisted on guaranteeing the active participation of the bereaved families in the investigation of the disaster's cause and maintaining support and attention for the families until the very end.
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