Airports chief says Jeju delays began before President Lee's plane, not due to it alone
In short
Kim Won-jun, president of Korea Airports Corporation, told a parliamentary audit on 22 October that the mass flight delays at Jeju airport on 16 October began early and cannot be explained by the presidential plane alone. Opposition People Power Party lawmakers blame President Lee Jae-myung's plane, while the ruling Democratic Party points to data showing delays before the plane's airspace controls began.
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Kim Won-jun, president of Korea Airports Corporation, told the National Assembly's transport committee audit on 22 October that the mass flight delays at Jeju International Airport on 16 October began early and could not be explained by President Lee Jae-myung's plane alone. Asked by Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi (전용기) whether he could say the overall delays were not caused by the presidential plane, he replied that it was not something that could be stated on that one factor alone. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Jeon presented Airports Corporation data showing that 237 of 512 flights at Jeju that day were delayed. Between noon and 16:00, 63 of 129 flights (48.8%) were already delayed, before airspace control for the presidential plane started at 16:45, according to Yonhap and Newsis. Jeon described the People Power Party's attribution of the delays to the plane as an excessive political attack. He also said Jeju's annual average delay rate is about 20% and that it was 26.3% on 2 October, when the president did not visit. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Kim cited Friday weekend travellers and the National Sports Festival as causes. He said athletes' equipment such as bicycles and archery gear takes longer to process than ordinary luggage. He said delays accumulated from the morning, that the delay rate passed 30% after 13:00 and rose sharply from the afternoon, and agreed that delays in aircraft connections and cargo handling carried over to later flights. Newsis separately quoted Chung Chae-gyo, head of the Transport Ministry's aviation policy office, as saying the causes acted in combination and the presidential plane was partly one of them. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
The Transport Ministry said in an explanation on 19 October that connection delays were the main factor, starting at about 09:00. It said the presidential plane's takeoff standby was set for 19:50 to 20:30 but it took off at 21:22, and that the time controlled for its takeoff was only about 10 minutes. [ 3 ]
The People Power Party disagrees. At the 21 October audit of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee, Cho Eun-hee (조은희) said the president left after his speech while citizens remained at the airport until midnight, and that nearly half of flights to and from Jeju were delayed by the plane's operation. She asked for documents on the opening ceremony plan, consultations on the president's attendance and damage reports. The government has said Jeju delays had built up since the morning and that the plane did not cause chain delays. [ 1 ]
At the 22 October audit, People Power Party lawmaker Kim Eun-hye (김은혜) said the corporation was hiding why a Gimpo-bound flight had to go to Incheon. She said it had refused to hand over Jeju air traffic control logs, citing the information disclosure law and inter-agency agreements. The documents do not give the corporation's reply. [ 2 ]
Why it matters
The dispute over what caused the Jeju delays has become a partisan argument in the National Assembly audits, with each side citing different figures. The documents show officials describing several contributing causes and the opposition demanding records on the president's attendance.
Key facts
- On 16 October, 237 of 512 flights at Jeju airport were delayed, according to figures presented by Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi; Asia Economy and Yonhap give that number, while Newsis says 236 and Chosun Ilbo says 234. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Airports Corporation data show 63 of 129 flights (48.8%) between noon and 16:00 were already delayed, before airspace control for the presidential plane began at 16:45. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Kim Won-jun said the delays started early and that the presidential plane was not a single explanation; he cited Friday weekend travellers and the National Sports Festival, where athletes' equipment such as bicycles and archery gear takes longer to handle than ordinary luggage. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Kim said the delay rate passed 30% after 13:00 and rose sharply from the afternoon; he also said the usual annual average delay rate at Jeju is about 20%. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Chung Chae-gyo, head of the Transport Ministry's aviation policy office, told the audit that causes acted in combination and that the presidential plane was partly one of them. [ 3 ]
- The Transport Ministry said on 19 October that the presidential plane's takeoff slot of 19:50 to 20:30 slipped to an actual takeoff at 21:22, and that control time for the takeoff was only about 10 minutes. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Korea Airports Corporation president Kim Won-jun told the 22 October audit that the delays began early and could not be explained by the presidential plane alone. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Airports Corporation data show 63 of 129 flights between noon and 16:00 on 16 October were delayed, before airspace control for the presidential plane began at 16:45. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The government said Jeju airport delays had been building since the morning because of the National Sports Festival and other factors, and that the presidential plane did not cause a chain of delays. [ 1 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- How many flights were delayed on 16 October. Documents give 234 (Chosun Ilbo), 236 (Newsis) and 237 (Asia Economy, Yonhap) delayed flights.
- How much the presidential plane contributed to the delays. People Power Party lawmaker Cho Eun-hee said nearly half of Jeju flights were delayed by the plane's operation, while Kim Won-jun and the Transport Ministry described several causes, with the ministry official saying the plane was partly one.
- Whether the Airports Corporation is withholding Jeju air traffic control logs. This comes only from People Power Party lawmaker Kim Eun-hye, who said it refused a request for the logs; no document gives the corporation's response.
- How many passengers were affected. Asia Economy says 44,600 passengers were inconvenienced, while Yonhap quotes Kim Won-jun as saying about 40,000 passengers arrived at Jeju airport.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Connection delays began at Jeju airport, according to the Transport Ministry's 19 October explanation. [ 3 ]
- Start of the noon to 16:00 period in which 63 of 129 flights were delayed. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Airspace control related to the presidential plane began. [ 3 , 4 ]
- President Lee attended the National Sports Festival opening ceremony in Seogwipo, Jeju, after a stop in Busan. [ 1 ]
- The presidential plane took off, after a planned standby of 19:50 to 20:30, according to the Transport Ministry. [ 3 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reported on 21 October that the issue had flared again at the National Assembly audit. [ 1 ]
- Asia Economy reported Kim Won-jun's testimony at the 22 October transport committee audit. [ 2 ]