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Travel ban slapped on Jeju Air CEO as police investigate deadly plane crash

Published: 02 Jan. 2025, 18:51

Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae leaves the venue of a press conference held in Gangseo District, western Seoul, on Dec. 29, hours after the deadly crash of one of its flights at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla. [YONHAP]

Police said Thursday a travel ban was slapped on Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae amid investigations into the tragic Jeju Air crash on Dec. 29.

The Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency said Thursday that Kim was banned from traveling along with one other Jeju Air employee on Tuesday. Kim is viewed as a key witness in the police's investigation into charges of occupational negligence resulting in death or injury.

Earlier Thursday, police raided three sites connected to the Dec. 29 Jeju Air crash on Thursday, including the airline's headquarters in Seoul at 9 a.m.

Police also raided Muan International Airport and the Muan branch office of the Busan Regional Aviation Administration.

On Dec. 29, Jeju Air’s Flight 7C2216, a Boeing 737-800 returning from Bangkok, Thailand, with 181 people on board — 175 passengers and six flight attendants — caught fire after veering off the runway and colliding with a localizer.

All but two onboard were killed.

The raid occurred five days after the tragic crash. The provincial police agency had formed a 264-member investigative task force on the day of the accident.

Police take the elevator after securing evidence at the Busan Regional Aviation Administration on Jan. 2. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

"We will fully investigate the exact cause of the accident and determine the responsible parties in strict accordance with the law and principles," a police official said Thursday.

Police are securing relevant data to examine the adequacy of runway structures around the accident site, such as the localizer, the possibility of bird strikes, warnings and distress signals exchanged between the control tower and the pilot prior to the crash, as well as the maintenance history of the aircraft involved in the accident.

Police seized a box worth of materials from the Busan Regional Aviation Administration at 1 p.m.

Authorities were seeking to seize CCTV footage of the airport runway as of 3 p.m.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]