Families of 179 Jeju Air crash victims hold joint chuseok rite at Muan airport

Families of victims of the Dec. 29 Jeju Air plane crash gathered at Muan International Airport on Friday to mark their second chuseok since the disaster, holding a joint ancestral rite for all 179 people killed. The families said no one has been held accountable and expressed hope that justice would be served before the next holiday.

The bereaved families' council held the joint rite Friday morning at Muan International Airport in Muan-gun, South Jeolla Province. About 100 people attended, including council chair Kim Yu-jin, South Jeolla Province-Gwangju Integrated Special City Mayor Min Hyeong-bae, and family members.

In a memorial address, Kim said the families were marking their fourth holiday since the crash, yet "not a single person responsible has been punished or detained." She added that a renewed search for remains conducted since February had recovered more than 1,800 fragments, with families now preparing for a third funeral.

Kim described the rite as a moment both to honor the victims and to demand accountability and remembrance from the state and society. "I hope that by the next holiday, we will be able to properly honor all 179 victims, and that the truth will have been established and those responsible punished," she said.

After the rite, the families shared songpyeon rice cakes. Later Friday, they planned to visit a memorial hall in Damyang-gun where remains recovered at Muan airport are interred.