South Korea police raid transport ministry in widening Jeju Air crash probe

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Rescuers work near the wreckage of the Jeju Air aircraft that went off the runway and crashed at Muan International Airport, in Muan, South Korea, December 30, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo

Rescuers working near the wreckage of the Jeju Air aircraft that went off the runway and crashed at Muan International Airport in South Korea in December 2024.

PHOTO: REUTERS

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SEOUL - South Korean police investigating the 2024 Jeju Air crash on March 13 said they had raided the transport ministry as part of a widening probe into whether regulatory lapses contributed to the disaster at Muan International Airport.

The raid follows an ongoing reinvestigation of wreckage led by the ministry and the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board, which has uncovered additional human remains and personal belongings more than a year after the crash, prompting renewed questions over the initial response.

Authorities have already searched regional aviation offices and contractors involved in the airport's construction as part of a broader effort to determine responsibility for the crash, which killed 179 people.

A police official declined to comment further on the March 13 raid, but Yonhap News Agency cited an official as saying it was aimed at securing additional material needed for the ongoing probe into the cause of the disaster.

This is a developing story. REUTERS

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