[Aircraft Disaster] Bereaved Families Call for Guardianship System for Minors

"Requests Made to Local Governments
Due to Bereaved Families Including Elementary, Middle, and High School Students"

The representative of the bereaved families from the December 29 Jeju Air passenger plane disaster has requested that local governments establish a guardianship system and other measures for underage family members.

Park Hanshin, head of the Jeju Air Passenger Plane Disaster Family Council, stated at a regular briefing held at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province on the afternoon of the 22nd, "Among the bereaved families, there are elementary, middle, and high school students who lost their parents first."

Hanshin Park, Representative of the Bereaved Families Association. Yonhap News

He continued, "So far, discussions on support measures have been based on adult family members," and explained, "We have requested local governments to establish a guardianship system and other measures for underage bereaved family members, and we are exploring various options."

After the funeral procedures, Park commented on the bereaved families who returned to the airport, saying, "We plan to hold a joint memorial service at 10 a.m. on the 29th, the day of Seollal," and added, "We have asked the local government to provide vehicles and ritual supplies to facilitate the transportation of bereaved families coming from Gwangju."

Regarding some additional body fragments recovered during the search, Park added, "All fragments have been transferred to the National Forensic Service, and DNA testing is currently underway," and continued, "Based on these results, we plan to discuss how to proceed with a joint cremation in the future."