South Korea's transport minister Park Sang-woo said on Tuesday that he intends to step down from his position to take responsibility for the deadly crash of Jeju Air's Boeing jet on December 29, which killed 179 people on board.

South Korean officials are struggling to determine what caused a deadly plane crash that killed nearly 180 people on board, with the nation saddened, shocked and ashamed over the country’s worst aviation disaster in decades.

A widely used Boeing aircraft, the 737-800, was involved in Sunday’s crash-landing of a Jeju Air flight that killed 179 people.

Boeing shares were down as much as 6% Monday morning. Authorities in Korea believe a bird strike could have been a factor in the fatal crash.

Joo Jong-wan, the deputy transport minister for civil aviation, acknowledged that safety measures were not sufficient when building the embankment, but said they were done in line

South Korea’s transport minister is resigning because he feels “heavy responsibility” for the Jeju Air crash that killed 179 people last month. A Jeju Air aircraft carrying 181 passengers and crew crashed at the Muan international airport on 29 December in what was the country’s worst air disaster.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo offered to resign on Tuesday, taking responsibility for the recent Jeju Air plane crash that claimed the lives of 179 out of 181 passengers and crew.