Category: Korea-General Topics

If traveling in South Korea for the Lunar New Year holiday please be careful because the conditions look pretty challenging out there right now:

Heavy snow blanketed South Korea for the second consecutive day Tuesday, disrupting transportation services and causing traffic congestion for people heading to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year holiday.

As of 4 p.m., 130 centimeters had piled up on Mount Halla on the southern resort island of Jeju since Monday, while some counties in the eastern province of Gangwon had 40 cm of snow over the same period. Cities of Anseong and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province, about 60 kilometers south of Seoul, had received about 25 cm of snow. In Seoul, the southwestern ward of Gwanak had 13.7 cm of snow.

For Wednesday, the Korea Meteorological Administration forecast an additional 5 to 15 cm of snow in the mountainous areas of Jeju and about 5 to 10 cm of snow in the Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces.

Yonhap

You can read much more about the transportation delays and road conditions at the link.

It looks like South Korea has found another potential defense export market:

Acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho and Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the defense sector and the arms industry Monday, according to the defense ministry.

In the talks held in Seoul, Kim noted that the two countries’ cooperation in the cybersecurity sector has been advancing and suggested expanding such ties to other areas, according to the defense ministry.

Kim also briefed Pevkur on South Korean weapons systems, including the K9 self-propelled howitzer that Estonia has acquired.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but at this point the Korean defense industry should send Putin a gift basket because all of this aggression towards his neighbors has been a boon for weapons sales.

The moral of this story is that if you are a foreigner in Korea make sure you bring enough money to provide medical care for yourself if needed:

Sgt. Park Ah-ron, Korea’s only police officer dedicated to assisting the unhoused, took charge of the case. Park contacted 21 hospitals in the Seoul metropolitan area but was met with refusals. Hospitals cited the 64-year-old’s foreign nationality and the high cost of surgery as reasons for rejection.

Efforts to reach his sister in Sweden were also unsuccessful, as she declined to cover the medical expenses.

Finally, with the help of the Seoul Homeless Support Center, Park identified a hospital in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province — Hyeogsin Seongmo Hospital — that agreed to perform the surgery after consultations with its director.

Using a translator to communicate with the Swedish national, Park obtained his consent for the surgery. On Dec. 16, the 64-year-old underwent a successful amputation. Despite the successful procedure, he passed away on Dec. 20 due to sepsis stemming from pneumonia. Hospital staff explained that his severely weakened immune system had contributed to his death.

Before his passing, the Swedish national, who had diabetes, requested and enjoyed a piece of chocolate as a small comfort in his final moments.

Exposing systemic gaps

Park expressed frustration over the lack of welfare support for foreign nationals in Korea. “I reached out to the local government for support with surgery costs, but foreign nationals are not eligible for medical aid as vagrants,” he said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

I don’t think I have ever heard of an airport being raided by the police before, but here we are:

 Police on Thursday raided Muan International Airport, the office of Jeju Air and other locations over the airline’s deadly crash that killed 179 people. 

The Jeonnam Provincial Police conducted search and seizure operations into the airport in southwest South Korea, the Seoul office of Jeju Air and the Muan office of the Busan Regional Office of Aviation, officials said. 

The search warrant was issued on charges of professional negligence resulting in death, officials said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but maybe the police should also raid the offices of the politicians who decided to build a little used airport in the middle of a bird migration wetland as well?

Hopefully other countries learn from what happened in Korea and inspect all their navigation facilities as well to make them safer if a plane overshoots the runway:

The government will inspect navigation facilities that assist in aircraft landings at all domestic airports, following mounting evidence that a concrete structure supporting a localizer — a navigation aid — may have exacerbated the severity of the impact when the ill-fated Jeju Air plane crashed at Muan International Airport, the transport ministry said Wednesday.

The investigation will focus on whether the materials used for the structure and its distance from the runway comply with domestic and international standards.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it is investigating the materials used in navigation aid facilities at all airports nationwide. The localizer, a key navigational aid, helps aircraft align with the runway during landing.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Now that the initial shock of the Jeju Air plane crash has passed, the Korean media is starting to ask the tough questions on why this crashed happened:

The right engine (in red circle) of Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 (Boeing 737-800) appears to be open for reverse thrust during an attempted belly landing at Muan International Airport, Sunday. Captured from video provided by a reader

A range of questions has emerged regarding the Jeju Air passenger plane crash that occurred on the morning of Dec. 29 at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province. Key issues include whether the engine’s reverse thrust was engaged during the emergency landing and why the plane did not jettison fuel before the accident.

A former commercial pilot and aviation experts analyzing video footage from the crash said it is likely the engine reverse thrust was activated. However, they noted a weak correlation between the absence of fuel jettisoning and the scale of the crash’s impact.

Was reverse thrust activated?

Of the 181 passengers and crew aboard, 179 lost their lives when the plane slid off the runway during an emergency belly landing, eventually colliding with a concrete structure holding the localizer antenna. The absence of landing gear, which plays a critical braking role, was cited as the primary cause. 

However, questions remain about whether auxiliary speed-reduction mechanisms, such as flaps, spoilers, or reverse thrust, were properly deployed.

A former commercial pilot said, “Crash footage and photos show the engine covers were open, indicating that reverse thrust was engaged. While it cannot be ruled out that the covers opened due to the impact, it seems more plausible that the captain activated reverse thrust during the emergency.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the author also asks why the landing gear was not manually deployed and why the pilot landed in the middle of the runway among other strange circumstances from this crash. With the evidence available now it is looking like a bird strike that led to pilot error may be the cause of this crash. The crash was then made worse by the dirt and concrete antenna structure at the end of the runway:

The remnants and debris of the Jeju Air passenger plane, which exploded after attempting a belly landing and colliding the previous day, remain on the runway at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province, Monday. Yonhap

Debate is intensifying over whether the design of a structure at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province exacerbated the impact of the recent Jeju Air passenger plane crash.

Experts argue that the structure, constructed with soil and concrete in a tall and rigid design, amplified the impact and worsened the resulting damage.

The government maintains that the facility complies with both domestic and international regulations. However, revelations that design guidelines from four years ago recommended breakable materials to minimize damage have further fueled the controversy.

The localizer, a safety facility guiding aircraft during landing, has been criticized for being constructed with rigid materials, contrary to international standards.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the Korea Times is also reporting that Muan International Airport also lacked the proper amount of personnel to ward off birds to prevent bird strikes:

A suspected bird strike, identified as one of the causes of the Jeju Air crash last Sunday, has raised concerns about the adequacy of bird control operations at Muan International Airport. At the time of the incident, only one Bird Alert Team (BAT), commonly referred to as “Batman,” was on duty, prompting questions about whether staffing levels and operational protocols were sufficient.

BAT units typically use firearms and other deterrents to drive birds away from airport grounds and communicate directly with the control tower when bird flocks are spotted.

According to sources compiled by the Hankook Ilbo, only one BAT member was working during the suspected bird strike, which likely occurred between 8:57 a.m. and 8:59 a.m. This contradicts earlier statements by the government’s Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, which said two members were present that day.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the article says that Muan has the highest per capita number of bird strikes of any airport in South Korea. Despite this fact nothing was done to increase the number of personnel needed to prevent bird strikes. So now you add in lax government airfield safety regulations on top of possible pilot error and this Jeju Air crash could end up being a major black eye for the Korean aviation industry.

This is unbelievably tragic. Condolences to all the families impacted by this awful plane crash:

At least 122 people have died and two were rescued after a Jeju Air passenger jet carrying 181 people erupted in flames as it went off the runway and hit a wall at an airport in South Korea’s southwestern county of Muan on Sunday, authorities said. All but the two are presumed to have been killed.

The accident happened at 9:07 a.m., when the Jeju Air flight veered off the runway while landing and collided with a fence wall at Muan International Airport in the Muan county, South Jeolla Province, about 288 kilometers southwest of Seoul. (Yonhap)

You can read more at the link, but acting President Choi Sang-mok was pretty impressive getting himself quickly to the crash site on a Sunday and showing despite the current political uncertainty he is in charge.

Additionally from what I am seeing on social media it is believed a bird strike may have damaged an engine and impacted the landing gear prior to touching down in Muan. Whoever the two survivors were they were extremely lucky to survive this horrible crash.

It is always a big deal when an electric vehicle catches fire, so it is only fair to point out that gasoline powered cars can catch fire as well:

A  BMW  vehicle is caught on fire in Seongnam in Gyeonggi on Dec. 20. [YONHAP]

A gasoline-powered BMW X3, which was idling at a traffic light, caught fire for unknown reasons while driving on Friday at around 9:38 a.m. in Bundang District in Seongnam, Gyeonggi. 
  
The driver of the vehicle managed to escape unharmed, according to a report from Yonhap News Agency.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.