The former CEO who oversaw the renovation of a South Korean airport has been found dead

The former president of the company that runs the South Korean airport where a Jeju Air jet crashed last month has been found dead in his home, police said Wednesday.

In the year Son Chang-wan, president of the Korea Airports Corporation from 2018 to 2022, arrived at his home in Gunpo, 14 miles south of Seoul, on Tuesday evening. Police said there was no evidence of murder or break-in and said the death was a suicide.

In the year Mr. Son was in office when the renovation of Mueang International Airport, where 179 people were killed in the Jeju air crash on Dec. 29, began in 2020. in Jeonnam State Police, according to a spokesman for the agency.

Korea Airports Corporation is a state-owned company that operates more than a dozen airports, including Mueang. The company said it has no official statement as Mr. Woldu’s death is a private matter.

A special subject of investigation into the crash involving the Boeing 737-800 is the concrete wall at Mueang Airport that houses the antenna that guides the aircraft during landing. Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 crashed into a wall at high speed and exploded, killing all but two of its passengers and crew.

The worst aviation accident in South Korea and the deadliest in the world, Lion Air Flight 610 in 2010.

The Korea Airports Corporation’s safety standards have been called into question, with critics arguing that if the antenna array had been mounted on a breakable mount, like at other airports, the risk could have been worse.

Government officials said the structure was built in accordance with safety regulations. However, an investigation by the Ministry of Transport found that seven of the country’s airports, including the one in Muan, did not meet safety standards and needed to improve their airports.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Transport said the concrete structure in Muan could easily be broken. The ministry also said it plans to extend local runways at airports from light, steel structures and safety zones to a minimum of 790 feet at the end of some runways. Mueang Airport will remain closed until mid-April.

A team of aviation officials from South Korea, the United States and Boeing is investigating the crash. Their efforts were hampered by the failure of the flight recorder, which stopped working minutes before the crash.

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