'National Mourning Period' Designated Until April Next Year
Joint Memorial Altars Set Up in Jeonnam Muan, Gwangju, etc.
Local Governments Cancel Year-End and New Year Events
Education Authorities Also Address Damage to Teachers and Students
Following the Jeju Air plane crash disaster on the 29th, local governments nationwide are setting up and operating joint memorial altars. Various year-end and New Year events that were scheduled are also being canceled. With casualties among students and faculty members, the Ministry of Education has also taken action.
According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and local governments on the 30th, the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces have begun serious discussions on the locations for joint memorial altars since the previous day. Earlier, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) held a meeting and designated a seven-day national mourning period until January 4 next year. In Jeonnam, where Muan Airport?the site of the accident?is located, a joint memorial altar will be set up at the Muan Sports Center near the airport. Gwangju, which had many victims due to the high number of Muan Airport users, will establish and operate a joint memorial altar at the 5·18 Democracy Square.
Year-end and New Year events that local governments were preparing have also been canceled one after another. Jeonju in Jeonbuk and Gwangju cities canceled the New Year's Eve events scheduled for the 31st. Ulju-gun in Ulsan plans to scale down the New Year's sunrise event at Ganjeolgot without a drone show or singer performances. Seoul is reviewing whether to hold the Bosingak New Year's Eve bell-ringing ceremony. Local leaders such as Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeonnam, and Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul, expressed their condolences in unison immediately after the accident.
The local leaders expressed their condolences in unison immediately after the accident. Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok said, "I sincerely offer my condolences to the families of the victims," adding, "It is taking time to confirm identities, and families are anxious, but we will take measures as quickly as possible." Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon stated, "We will respond with the utmost priority on swift rescue operations and the safety of rescue workers."
With five faculty members and twelve students (from Jeonnam, Gwangju, Sejong, Gyeonggi, and Jeonbuk) from the Jeonnam Office of Education included on the passenger list, the education authorities have also begun recovery efforts. The Jeonnam Office of Education formed an accident countermeasures headquarters the previous day to assess the damage status. The Ministry of Education has organized a situation management task force to monitor the damage and established a 24-hour emergency communication system between the Ministry of Education and local education offices. Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, confirmed the damage status the previous day and met with bereaved families of Jeonnam Office of Education staff to offer condolences.
Due to the aftermath of the disaster, government ministry schedules are also being postponed or canceled. The joint on-site visit by ministers of social-related ministries scheduled for the 30th was canceled, and the 2025 economic policy direction and work report were rescheduled to the 2nd of next month.
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