South Korea Airport Safety Failures Revealed After Deadly Jeju Air Crash
Illustrative image of a Jeju Air Boeing 737 - Source: Masakatsu Ukon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A new report by South Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection has uncovered decades of lapses in airport safety management, following the tragic December 2024 crash of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 that killed 179 people.
The crash occurred at Muan International Airport when the plane, struck by birds, belly-landed and overran the runway. Tragically, it collided with a concrete support for a localiser antenna, a critical component of the airport’s landing guidance system. Only two flight attendants at the rear of the aircraft survived.
The audit revealed that for more than 20 years, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport had cut construction costs and approved airport structures that did not meet international safety standards. Specifically, a 2.4-meter-high concrete embankment was built at Muan Airport to hold the localiser antenna, reducing earthwork costs but creating a deadly hazard. International standards require such structures to be frangible—designed to break apart easily if struck by an aircraft.
The ministry, which oversees airport construction while delegating operations to Korea Airports Corp (KAC), certified 14 non-compliant localizer installations across eight airports, including Muan, Gimhae, and Jeju. For up to 22 years, it erroneously approved operating permits and inspections, falsely confirming that frangibility standards were met.
The audit also identified broader safety shortcomings, including inadequate bird-strike prevention measures. Officials reported 30 separate instances of wrongdoing or procedural failures and instructed the ministry to implement corrective actions.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated it humbly accepted the findings and pledged strict follow-up measures, including improvements to localizer installations and stronger bird-strike prevention systems. A KAC spokesperson confirmed the airport operator is working to implement the recommended safety improvements.
Jeju Air has not commented publicly on the findings. A separate government-commissioned report suggested the crash might not have been fatal had the concrete embankment not been in place. A full investigative report is still pending, missing its one-year deadline for release. Muan International Airport has remained closed since the accident, and it is unclear when it will reopen.
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