JYP Kickflip Debut Album Project Release Postponed… In Memory of Jeju Air Passenger Plane Disaster [Official]

JYP Entertainment (hereinafter JYP) has postponed the release schedule of their Kickflip debut album project.

On the 30th, JYP Entertainment announced, “The Kickflip content schedule, scheduled to be released at midnight on January 1, 2025, has been postponed”, and “The content in question is scheduled to be uploaded at midnight on January 6th.”. They wrote, “We will notify you again if there are any additional changes. We ask for the generous understanding of the fans who have been waiting, and we express our deepest condolences on the unfortunate news of the accident.”. Kickflip is a 7-member new boy group that JYP Entertainment will present in 2025. The team name is taken from a skateboarding term that refers to a difficult technique of spinning the board 360 degrees with the tip of the foot. It contains the ambition to be unconstrained by existing norms and to be active in new ways, like moving forward by turning the board once. Originally, the plan was to launch the album project in earnest at midnight on January 1, 2025, but the project‘s release date was postponed out of mourning for the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster.

Meanwhile, at approximately 9:03 am on the 29th, a Jeju Air passenger plane attempted a body landing after failing to lower the landing gear while landing at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province, deviated from the runway, crashed into the exterior wall, and exploded. Of the 181 people on board the plane, 179 South Korean nationals and 2 Thai nationals, 2 were rescued and the remaining 179 died.

As of 2:30 p.m. on the 30th, 146 of the dead have been identified, and 33 are being identified through DNA analysis and fingerprinting. The identified victims will be transported to the funeral home in consultation with their bereaved families. The government has designated a seven-day national mourning period from the day of the accident to January 4, 2025.

Jeong Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com