Jeju Air victims' funerals see delays amid complicated identifications, ongoing probe
Published: 31 Dec. 2024, 18:17
Updated: 31 Dec. 2024, 18:45
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- CHO JUNG-WOO
- [email protected]
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![A family member of a Thai victim of the Jeju Air crash places a flower at the crash site at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on Tuesday. [JANG JIN-YOUNG]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/12/31/e4bcdc68-1f07-4897-aa9e-1a2d5fadf827.jpg)
A family member of a Thai victim of the Jeju Air crash places a flower at the crash site at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on Tuesday. [JANG JIN-YOUNG]
Funeral procedures for the victims of the Jeju Air crash were underway Tuesday amid delays caused by ongoing on-site investigations and difficulties confirming victims' identities due to the severe damage to the bodies.
As of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, the identities of 174 out of 179 victims had been confirmed. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said that DNA analysis is still underway for the remaining five bodies.
On Sunday morning, Jeju Air’s Boeing 737-800 collided with a concrete embankment at Muan International Airport and exploded, resulting in the death of 179 of 181 people on board. Following the tragedy, the country has entered into a national mourning period through Jan. 4.
By Tuesday afternoon, 175 bodies had been placed in a temporary mortuary, while four were transferred to begin funeral procedures.
![Transport Minister Park Sang-woo, right, speaks to bereaved families at a waiting room at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on Dec. 31, 2024. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/12/31/5bae1088-d06b-4968-81f7-5aa89dec0dff.jpg)
Transport Minister Park Sang-woo, right, speaks to bereaved families at a waiting room at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on Dec. 31, 2024. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Transport Minister Park Sang-woo said that an additional 28 bodies could be transferred to families upon request by the end of the day.
“Families may choose to wait if they prefer to retrieve the body in a more intact condition,” Park told bereaved families in a waiting room at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on Tuesday.
Authorities had earlier informed families that only five bodies retrieved from the crash site were relatively intact.
A police official from the Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency explained that restoring the remaining bodies to a presentable condition would take time due to the damage and the high number of bodies.
The official added that most of the remaining bodies are expected to be transferred by next Monday, though some may require more time.
![Acting President Choi Sang-mok speaks during a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting at the government complex in central Seoul on Dec. 31, 2024. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/12/31/ccdc1876-a933-420b-9b04-18a6060bc9c9.jpg)
Acting President Choi Sang-mok speaks during a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting at the government complex in central Seoul on Dec. 31, 2024. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
On the same day, acting President Choi Sang-mok vowed that the government would fully support the bereaved families and work diligently to determine the cause of the tragedy. He instructed officials to handle funeral procedures with the utmost care, as if “it were their own family matter.”
During a meeting at the government complex in central Seoul, Choi instructed the Transport Ministry to review the overall aircraft operation system and implement necessary improvements.
The government has also launched special inspections of six airlines operating the same aircraft model as the one involved in the Jeju Air crash, the Boeing 737-800. The inspections, covering Jeju Air, Jin Air, T’way, Eastar Jet, Air Incheon and Korean Air — operators of a total of 101 Boeing 737-800s — will examine operation and maintenance records, pilot training documentation and reports of any abnormalities. The inspections are scheduled to continue through Jan. 3.
![Bereaved families of Jeju Air crash victims visit the tragedy site at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on Dec. 31, 2024. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/12/31/a50c21bc-6b4f-45a4-b72d-3990e7af2fb5.jpg)
Bereaved families of Jeju Air crash victims visit the tragedy site at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla on Dec. 31, 2024. [YONHAP]
The Transport Ministry added that the National Transportation Safety Board from the United States and Boeing have joined the investigation into the crash and that the progress will be shared transparently with the public.
The black box recovered from the crash site has been sent to an analysis center at Gimpo International Airport for examination. It has undergone a cleansing process, while the flight data recorder — discovered without a connector — is being assessed to determine how its data can be extracted.
BY CHO JUNG-WOO [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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