Seoul: President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday ordered a thorough investigation into the recent discovery of additional remains of victims of the Jeju Air plane crash in late 2024, voicing regret over their belated recovery.

According to Yonhap News Agency, last month, authorities discovered nine pieces of remains presumed to belong to the victims in a reexamination of the wreckage site. This discovery has prompted the victims' families to protest outside the presidential office this week, condemning the disaster recovery process.

Lee has instructed a "thorough" probe to determine why the remains were not found during the early stages of the recovery process and why they remained at the site for more than a year, stated Lee Kyu-yeon, the presidential secretary for public relations. He also called for "severely reprimanding" those responsible and to swiftly carry out the ongoing investigation into the crash, the presidential aide mentioned in a briefing.

"Looking back, there were clear shortcomings. (We) will identify those responsible and make sure that this does not happen ever again," the aide emphasized.

The Jeju Air crash on December 29, 2024, resulted in the deaths of 179 passengers and crew members. The tragedy occurred when the jet made an emergency belly landing at Muan International Airport, approximately 290 kilometers south of Seoul, and erupted into flames after crashing into a concrete mound.