A local university on Saturday was embroiled in controversy over its recent art competition for high school students, in which one of the topics asked candidates to "depict the face of a pilot just before a crash."
The University of Suwon held the competition on July 19-20, with participating students asked to choose one of two topics for their art piece. This included the crashing pilot, which was chosen by 39 participants.
The subject sparked uproar, as it reminded many of the public of the Dec. 29 crash of a Jeju Air flight that killed 179 of the 181 people onboard.
The topic even specified that the pilot is "a man in his 40s." The pilot in the Muan disaster was 45 years old when he and all but two people onboard died in the crash.
"We believe that there was a management issue when selecting the topic for the competition. We sincerely apologize for touching off this debate," the university officials told media.
The bereaved families of the crash victims and a local group of the aircraft pilots reacted angrily to the news. In an official statement Saturday, the victims’ family group said the art competition "defamed" the pilot and the victims.
It urged an official apology and thorough investigation by the university on who is responsible.
In a separate statement issued Saturday, the Korean Pilot Unions Alliance also urged an apology to the bereaved families and said it was mulling legal action against the university.
The crash is currently under investigation in a government-led probe, with the initial findings suggesting that pilot may have mistakenly switched off the wrong engine after a bird flew into one of the jets. Bereaved families and the local pilots’ group accused the government of unfairly blaming the pilot when the investigation was not even final yet.
The conclusion of the ongoing investigation is expected in June 2026.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
