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Jeju Air crash victims include a dozen civil servants, including two sisters

Published: 29 Dec. 2024, 17:23 Updated: 07 Nov. 2025, 17:17

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

Fire authorities read out the names of identified victims of the Jeju Air plane crash at Muan International Airport on Dec. 29. [YONHAP]

Family members of passengers gathered in the waiting room on the first floor of Muan International Airport after the crash were seen sobbing with bloodshot eyes, crying out for their loved ones since they were first informed of the news in the morning.

“My son, daughter-in-law and grandchild were all on the plane that crashed,” said Choi Soon-ok, 64, who was in tears. “How could they all go like this, not even one but all three?

“My daughter-in-law was a Jeju Air employee and she and the family went on a trip to Thailand for vacation,” Choi continued. “We talked on the phone last night when they told me they were leaving to come back home.”

“My sister was on that plane,” another bereaved family member, a woman surnamed Kim, 33, said, sobbing. “She was always so hardworking and this was a vacation for her, and now she’s gone.”

In the waiting room, a swarm of other families waiting for any news of their loved ones were all crying or trying to console each other.

“What can we do?” a woman in her 50s cried, repeating over and over again “what should we do” to other family members who were trying to calm her.

The families, more than 100 people in total, gathered in the waiting room at the airport at around 1 p.m. Sunday, four hours after the accident. As soon as Lee Jeong-hyeon, chief of the South Jeolla Muan Fire Department, finished saying “most of the 181 passengers on the plane are presumed dead,” the waiting room turned into a sea of tears.

“Is there no chance of finding more survivors?” one of the family members asked, in disbelief, and Lee lowered his head and replied “unfortunately, that is what the situation is telling us.”

A woman who had been waiting for news of her daughter collapsed, unconscious, as Lee said these words, while a man shouted out, “How?” in frustration.

When names of five more identified victims were called out at around 2:40 p.m., the families of those identified cried out their names and fell to the floor in shock.

The bereaved families also protested as the authorities delayed the process of recovering the bodies and identifying them.

“How can it be that we haven’t even identified the deceased for over eight hours since the accident?” one of the bereaved families cried out in frustration. “It seems like there is no accident response headquarters, let alone a control tower.”

It was reported that many of those on board the Jeju Air 7C 2216 flight from Bangkok were on end-of-the-year family vacations. The fire authorities are currently placing the bodies of the victims in a temporary mortuary after confirming their identities. They plan to transfer them to funeral parlors after consulting with the families.

The bereaved families also made requests to Acting President Choi Sang-mok, who visited Muan International Airport to inspect the accident, such as “please inform us of the situation in real time” and “think of the families first.”

“I understand,” Choi said repeatedly in response to the families’ shouts as he bowed his head while heading out of the situation room.

Many of the passengers on board the Jeju Air plane that crashed at Muan International Airport on Sunday are believed to be residents of Gwangju and South Jeolla, while it has been confirmed that civil servants were also on board, including two Mokpo civil servant sisters.

According to the South Jeolla provincial government and other sources on Sunday, as of 4:50 p.m., the list of passengers on board the Jeju Air Flight 7C 2216, a Boeing 737-800 returning from Bangkok, included 13 current and former employees from the provincial government, Gwangju city government and affiliated organizations.

Two male employees from an organization affiliated with the South Jeolla Provincial Government were on the flight coming back from a trip to Thailand, while three current civil servants and five retired civil servants from Hwasun County were returning from a trip that they took together.

Two Mokpo city civil servants, who were sisters, and one Damyang County civil servant were also on the list of passengers.

Five general administrative officers from the South Jeolla Provincial Office of Education were also on board the plane that crashed.

The relevant organizations are dispatching staff to the accident site at Muan International Airport to assess the situation and discuss response measures for each organization.

Bereaved families of those killed in the fatal plane crash at Muan International Airport listen to fire authorities' announcement of identified victims at the airport on Dec. 29. [YONHAP]

According to fire authorities, at around 9:03 a.m. Sunday, a report was received that Jeju Air Flight 7C 2216 from Bangkok crashed while attempting to land on the runway at Muan International Airport.

The airplane, carrying 181 passengers and crew, crashed into the outer wall of the runway, and as of 4:50 p.m. one man and one woman, both crew members, were rescued, and 124 people were confirmed dead. Fire authorities are currently experiencing difficulties identifying the victims due to the severity of the explosion and fire following the crash.

Families of those on board were told that it is highly likely that no more survivors will be found.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]