South Korea's Choi orders immediate action on aircraft inspection as crash probe ramps up

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok said on Thursday immediate action must be taken if a special inspection of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated in the country finds any issues as authorities ramp up a probe into Sunday's deadly air crash.

The conversion of data from the Jeju Air 7C2216 cockpit voice recorder to audio file should be completed by Friday, Choi told a disaster management meeting, which could provide critical information on the final minutes of the doomed flight.

All 175 passengers and four of six crew members were killed on Sunday when the Jeju Air jet belly-landed at Muan International Airport in the country's southwest and slammed into an earth-and-concrete embankment, bursting into flames.

Two crew members, located near the tail of the Boeing 737-800, survived.

"As there's great public concern about the same aircraft model involved in the accident, the transport ministry and relevant organisations must conduct a thorough inspection of operation maintenance, education, and training," Choi said.

Choi's comments at the start of the meeting were provided by his office.

Questions by air safety experts on what led to the deadly explosion have focused on the embankment designed to prop up navigation equipment that they said may have been built too close to the end of the runway.

The aircraft's flight data recorder, which sustained some damage, is being taken to the United States for analysis in cooperation with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Investigators from the NTSB, U.S. Federation Aviation Administration and the maker of the aircraft, Boeing, are in South Korea to help probe the worst air disaster in the country.

Choi asked no effort be spared in helping the families of the victims as the remains of those killed are handed over them. He also asked the police to take action against anyone posting "malicious" messages and fake news on social media related to the disaster.

(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Sonali Paul)