South Korean families mark one year since Jeju Air crash

South Korea held a memorial ceremony on Monday (December 29) to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Jeju Air crash, the country’s worst aircraft accident which killed 179 people.

Family members of victims and officials, including Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, attended the ceremony at Muan International Airport, which also released a pre-recorded message from President Lee Jae Myung.

Relatives of the victims have demanded answers about the accident, after investigators delayed releasing a report on what went wrong on December 29, 2024, when the Jeju Air jet crash-landed and slammed into an embankment at the end of the runway. It erupted in a ball of flames, killing all but two of the 181 people on board.

The government-led Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board said in a preliminary report in January that both of the plane's engines sustained bird strikes. But questions remain about safety lapses, the design of the runway at Muan International Airport where the crash occurred and what actions the pilots took in the last few minutes of the flight.

Production: Dogyun Kim, Minwoo Park/Reuters