Jeju Air Bereaved Families Demand Participation in Investigation... Minister of Land Says "Direct Participation Is Difficult"

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo is responding to questions related to the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster at the plenary meeting of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee on the morning of the 14th. Photo by Yonhap News

원본보기 아이콘

The representative of the bereaved families of the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster that occurred at Jeonnam Muan International Airport requested that the families be allowed to participate in the accident investigation, but the government responded that direct participation is difficult under international law.

On the 14th, Park Han-shin, the representative of the Jeju Air Passenger Plane Disaster Family Council, asked at the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee plenary session, "Please guarantee the participation and expression of opinions of the bereaved families during the investigation," requesting that they be allowed to participate in the accident investigation.

Park added, "If the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) and the Korea-US joint investigation team discover new facts during the investigation, they should immediately inform the bereaved families and listen to their opinions."

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport responded that considering international standards and procedures, direct participation by the bereaved families is difficult. At the plenary session, Minister Park Sang-woo answered to Rep. Ahn Tae-jun of the Democratic Party's question, "Is it difficult for bereaved families to participate in the accident investigation due to the international standards and procedures of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)?" by saying, "That is what I understand."

Minister Park stated, "We plan to transparently disclose information to the bereaved families at every stage of the accident investigation, and I believe the ARAIB will do so." He continued, "Various experts, including the Pilots' Union Federation, can objectively verify the investigation, and during that process, the bereaved families can receive direct or indirect assistance to coordinate their opinions. Such mechanisms will be adjusted during the enactment of the special law so as not to violate international standards and procedures."

On the same day, Representative Park urged for strong punishment of defamation and insult crimes against the bereaved families and requested support for the continuous activities of the Family Council. He also demanded support for living expenses for the bereaved families and ongoing support for the Family Council's activities.

Park said, "If the ARAIB fairly, transparently, and objectively reveals all the truths in detail only to us bereaved families, we will refer to it and wait. However, for parts we cannot accept, we are preparing to raise our voices in our own way and continue monitoring."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport decided to deploy personnel for bird control at Muan Airport according to the frequency of bird appearances. Minister Park said, "So far, the deployment of personnel has somewhat been based on the number of flights rather than the criteria of bird activity. Going forward, we will set standards to strengthen activities and increase investment first by considering the higher risk based on the frequency of bird activity."

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.