The former executive who oversaw the renovation of South Korea’s airport has been found dead

The former head of the company that runs the South Korean airport where a Jeju Air plane landed last month has been found dead at his home, police said on Wednesday.

Son Chang-wan, who was president of Korea Airports Corporation from 2018 to 2022, was found at his residence in the city of Gunpo, about 14 miles south of Seoul, on Tuesday evening. Police said there was no evidence of murder or a home invasion and described his death as an apparent suicide.

Mr Son was in office at the renovation of Muan International Airport, site of December 29 Jeju air disaster in which 179 people diedIt began in 2020. But it was not the subject of an investigation into the incident conducted by Jeonnam Provincial Police, according to an agency spokesperson.

Korea Airports Corporation is a government-owned company that operates more than a dozen airports, including Muan Airport. The company said that since Mr. Son’s death was a personal matter, it had no official statement on it.

One specific subject of investigations into the Boeing 737-800 crash is the concrete wall at Muan Airport that contains an antenna array used to guide planes during landing. Jeju Airlines Flight 7C2216 slid into the wall at high speed and exploded, killing all but two of the plane’s passengers and crew.

It was the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil and the deadliest worldwide since the disaster Lion Air Flight 610 in 2018When all 189 people on board died.

KAC’s safety standards have come into question, with critics arguing that if the antenna array had been mounted on an easily breakable base, as is the case at many other airports, the disaster would have been less severe.

Government officials said the structure was built in accordance with safety regulations. but Inspection The Ministry of Transport revealed that seven of the country’s airports, including Muan Airport, did not meet safety standards and needed to upgrade their runway facilities.

The Ministry of Transport said on Wednesday that it would replace the current concrete structure at Muan with one that is easier to break. The department also said plans are underway to develop GPS devices at airports to be made of lighter steel structures and to expand safety zones at the end of some runways to at least approximately 790 feet. The Muan runway is scheduled to remain closed until mid-April.

A team of aviation officials from South Korea, the United States and Boeing are investigating the incident. Their efforts have already been hampered by failure Flight recorder Which stopped working minutes before the accident.

Police are conducting a separate investigation and have prevented Jeju Air’s CEO from leaving the country.