Minister of Land Park Sang-woo: "'Concrete Mound Is Legal'... Explanation Was Complacent"

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo is answering questions at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee plenary session held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 14th. Photo by Yonhap News

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Park Sang-woo, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated that the Ministry's explanation that the concrete mound of the localizer (azimuth facility) at Muan International Airport in Jeonnam was "built according to regulations" is a "careless response" and that installing the concrete facility was a mistake. He also said that related regulations would be revised and an on-site investigation would be conducted to prevent accidents.

Minister Park made these remarks on the 14th at the plenary session of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul.

Minister Park said, "It is regrettable that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport focused on a physical interpretation of the concrete mound in its response," adding, "Regardless of whether the localizer is inside or outside the longitudinal safety zone, in an emergency situation where the aircraft lands on the fuselage, it is uncertain where it might go, and placing a hazardous facility like a concrete mound in such a situation was wrong."

On the same day, Lee So-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asked Joo Jong-won, Director General of Aviation Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, "There are criticisms that the concrete mound exacerbated the accident, but the Ministry explained that the localizer was installed according to relevant regulations," and questioned, "They say the localizer was outside the longitudinal safety zone, so it was not a violation of regulations. Is this explanation reasonable?" Director Joo replied, "It is an explanation based on the regulations at the time of Muan Airport's opening in 2007."

Rep. Lee pointed out, "Facilities near the runway pose a risk of collision with aircraft and should minimize impact, but the localizer at Muan Airport is located where a collision could occur," adding, "However, the Ministry issued a press release implying there was no problem."

Firefighters are searching for fuel items at the site of the Jeju Air passenger plane collision and explosion accident that occurred on the 30th at Muan International Airport, Jeonnam. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

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On December 30 last year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated, based on the 'Detailed Guidelines for Managing Aviation Obstacles under the Aviation Facilities Act,' that obstacles on airport grounds must be made of breakable materials only if they are within the longitudinal safety zone. The localizer at Muan Airport is outside the longitudinal safety zone. However, another guideline, the 'Detailed Design Guidelines for Airport and Airfield Facilities,' includes provisions that the longitudinal safety zone should be extended to where obstacles like localizers are located, sparking controversy. Subsequently, on the 7th, the Ministry drew a line on the illegality of installing concrete mounds by stating that there are no regulations on the materials of facilities outside the longitudinal safety zone.

Director Joo responded to Rep. Lee's criticism that "the 'Airport Safety Operation Standards,' which require that materials of facilities outside the longitudinal safety zone be breakable, were implemented in 2010, but Muan Airport was built in 2007 and thus does not fall under this standard," by saying, "It was not applicable at the time, but that does not mean the concrete mound structure is correct."

Minister Park said, "Facilities with concrete mounds, such as Yeosu Airport, will be immediately corrected," and acknowledged, "The Ministry gave a careless response and is currently responding from this perspective." He further explained, "Although it would be appropriate to retroactively apply the Airport Safety Operation Standards implemented in 2010 to all airports, realistically, there were issues such as budget constraints."

Maeng Sung-kyu, chairman of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee (Democratic Party member), said, "With the strengthened 2010 operation standards, there should be data from on-site investigations of local airports to identify deficiencies," adding, "Currently, no such investigations have been conducted." Minister Park replied, "We will conduct a comprehensive investigation and verification," and added, "We will revise regulations and carry out a full survey."

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