South Korea plane crash tests political unity amid leadership crisis | South Korea

As the year draws to a close, South Koreans must have been hoping for a respite from the political chaos that has visited their country in recent weeks.

It would take something out of the ordinary to overshadow Friday’s impeachment of Han Duck-soo, the second South Korean leader removed from office by parliament in a fortnight.

On Sunday morning, the country was forced to confront the horrifying sight of an airliner careening along the tarmac before crashing into a wall and bursting into flames, reportedly killing all but two of the 181 people on board.

The two events that will define 2024 for a country hitherto celebrated for its economic and cultural prowess are of course unrelated, but it is impossible to ignore the political background to Sunday’s tragedy on the runway at Muan International Airport.

The incident has highlighted the potential risks to disaster preparedness of instability at the highest levels of government.

There were encouraging signs immediately after the tragedy. South Korea’s rival political parties launched separate initiatives in response to the disaster, seemingly setting aside the animosity of recent weeks.

Opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung traveled to Muan, where he plans to stay indefinitely to support rescue efforts, the Hankyoreh newspaper said, although he will stay away from the crash site while recovery operations continue.

The ruling People Power party, meanwhile, formed a task force focused on investigating the crash and supporting the victims’ families. The party’s acting leader, Kweon Seong-dong, will visit Muan on Monday with task force members to “review disaster response measures and prevention strategies” and meet bereaved families.

Hours after the crash, Acting President Choi Sang-mok arrived at the scene to support aid workers and offer words of comfort to more than 100 relatives desperate for news of their loved ones. Some surrounded him, demanding updates and imploring him to put families first. Choi could only bow repeatedly as he said, “I understand”.

There was also anger at what some saw as a slow response from the authorities and the airline. The families had begged to be allowed near the crash site since Sunday morning but were denied entry due to the restricted nature of the airport zone.

When Lee Jeong-hyeon, the chief of the Muan fire station, told families that most passengers were presumed dead, the room broke into tears of grief, according to Yonhap news agency. “Is there absolutely no chance of survival?” asked a family member. Lee bowed and replied, “I’m so sorry, but that’s how it looks.”

Choi’s presence was a reminder that the worst air disaster on Korean soil occurred at a time of unprecedented political turmoil, coming just two days after he replaced the impeached Han.

The flames that swept through the fuselage of the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 had barely been extinguished when concerns were raised about the ability of a man who, even while serving as acting president from Friday, continues in his roles as finance minister and deputy prime minister . minister to respond effectively to the disaster.

The political uncertainty extends to the Interior Ministry – a key coordinating body in response to situations such as the Muan crash – which is headed by an acting minister after his predecessor resigned in the wake of this month’s martial law debacle.

Choi acknowledged the seriousness of the situation in his remarks at the airport. “No words of comfort will be enough for the families who have suffered such a tragedy,” he said, promising that “the government will spare no effort to support the bereaved families”.

The joyless game of political revolving doors that catapulted an unwilling Choi to the presidency 48 hours earlier began when Yoon Suk Yeol was suspended from the presidency after attempting to impose martial law on December 3. His replacement, Han, was impeached by parliament on Friday for refusing to appoint judges to the Constitutional Court – the body that will decide Yoon’s fate.

In addition to dealing with Sunday’s air disaster, Choi has also inherited a flurry of other immediate challenges: a currency that has plunged to its lowest level since the 2009 financial crisis and heightened security concerns after several military chiefs were arrested for their alleged involvement in the martial law plan .

The response to the Muan disaster has drawn attention from civic groups, including the families of the 159 people killed in the 2022 Itaewon crowd in Seoul – a tragedy exacerbated by the government’s inadequate emergency preparedness.

On Sunday, their representatives called for proper support for the victims’ families, including counseling and translation services for relatives of the two foreign victims aboard Jeju Air flight 2216 – both Thai nationals.

“In light of the political chaos of the insurgency situation and the impeachment of the president, Acting President Choi must do his utmost to ensure that there is no error in the government’s control tower’s role in responding to and dealing with this disaster,” the group representing survivors families from the Itaewon tragedy. said in a statement.

As the families of the Jeju Air victims tried to make sense of what had happened, the Muan tragedy was quickly becoming a test of whether South Korea’s fractured political landscape could find unity and compassion amid the devastation.