무안 제주항공 여객기 참사 특별수사단 한국공항공사·국토부 압수수색

[홀랜]

An employee leaves the Transport Ministry's Aviation Policy Division office at the Government Complex Sejong on Tuesday as police search the office in connection with the 2024 Jeju Air crash. (Yonhap)

Police investigating the deadly 2024 Jeju Air crash at Muan International Airport raided the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Korea Airports Corp. and the Busan Regional Office of Aviation on Tuesday.

Authorities said the probe was aimed at securing additional evidence related to suspected negligence leading to death or injury surrounding the airport's concrete localizer structure.

All three agencies had been raided before. The Busan Regional Office of Aviation was searched in February and KAC in March. The Transport Ministry was searched in March and again in June.

The latest raids are separate from the search in June and follow the discovery of additional areas of suspicion during the investigation, police said.

During the first raid on the ministry in March, police booked four ministry officials as suspects, including two from its navigation satellite policy division and two from its airport operations division. Investigators said at the time they were examining the cause of the disaster and whether the agencies involved had responded appropriately.

Police are also investigating allegations that the Transport Ministry sought to downplay or conceal safety problems involving the concrete embankment after initially saying in the aftermath of the crash that the structure did not violate regulations.

Investigators had also said earlier that they would examine whether safety problems linked to the disaster could be traced to the airport's construction, which began in 1999.

Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, a Boeing 737-800 arriving from Bangkok, attempted an emergency belly landing at Muan International Airport at about 9:03 a.m. on Dec. 29, 2024. The aircraft overran the runway and struck a concrete embankment housing the airport's localizer, a navigation system that helps guide aircraft during landing.

The aircraft burst into flames after the collision. Of the 181 people aboard, including six crew members and 175 passengers, 179 were killed and two survived with injuries, making it the deadliest aviation disaster on South Korean soil.

Police have booked 45 people in connection with the crash on suspicion of negligence resulting in death or injury and other charges.

Investigators are also examining whether the case could fall under provisions of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act covering "serious public disasters."

seungku99@heraldcorp.com