National Assembly Land Committee Questions on Muan Jeju Air Passenger Plane Accident
Kim Heejung: "The Missing Four Minutes Is Essentially Concealing the Truth"
Park Sang-woo, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, is answering questions at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 14th. Photo by Yonhap News
Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo was reported a week after the transcript was made that the last 4 minutes of the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), the black box of the passenger plane involved in the accident at Muan International Airport in Jeonnam, were not recorded.
On the 14th, at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Minister Park stated, "I was informed by the responsible director around 10:30 a.m. on the 11th." This was a week after the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Committee (Investigation Committee) completed the CVR transcript on the 4th.
On the same day, Kim Hee-jung, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out to Minister Park, "The Investigation Committee announced that it completed the CVR transcript on the 4th and that two investigators departed for the United States on the 6th carrying the Flight Data Recorder (FDR). However, there was no mention in this announcement that the last 4 minutes of the CVR or FDR were missing."
Kim added, "Based on the Investigation Committee’s announcement, it seemed that the entire recording was available, but suddenly on the 11th, it was revealed that the last 4 minutes were not recorded," and said, "This is effectively hiding the truth, which raises doubts about the reliability of future developments."
Yoo Kyung-soo, Director of Aviation Safety Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "The Investigation Committee said they extracted 2 hours of recordings stored in the CVR to create the transcript, but it was not possible to confirm exactly which time period the recordings covered. The Investigation Committee consulted with the U.S. side and said that to verify whether the last 4 minutes were recorded, cross-verification with the FDR is necessary."
He added, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport does not receive all reports from the Investigation Committee," and explained, "Once the Investigation Committee progresses to a certain point in its investigation and analysis, we will discuss disclosing the contents directly."
Maeng Sung-kyu, chairman of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee (Democratic Party member), commented on the situation, "In the future, it would reduce confusion if the Investigation Committee announces the findings and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport attends as an observer," and said, "It is a reasonable inference that the absence of the last 4 minutes of recording could affect the accident investigation, so the Ministry should carefully monitor the Investigation Committee’s results." He added, "Ultimately, this will be connected to the question of who will take responsibility."
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