South Korea will remove a concrete structure at the runway of one of its southern airports, the scene of a plane crash that killed all but two of the 181 people on board last month.

The transport ministry instructed nine low-cost carriers to improve safety standards and avoid prioritising cost-cutting.

The crash of Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 killed 179 people on December 29 when the aircraft slid down the runway at the Muan International Airport and slammed into a concrete embankment. There were only two survivors,

South Korea's transport ministry said on Wednesday that it would remove the concrete embankment installed at Muan International Airport following last month's Jeju Air crash, its deadliest domestic air disaster.

The Jeju Air flight was bringing passengers home from Thailand after Christmas when it made an emergency landing at Muan airport and exploded after slamming into a concrete barrier at the end of the runway.

South Korea will extend runway safety areas and redesign infrastructure after the crash of a Jeju Air Co. flight last month that killed almost everyone on board, sparking criticism that the design of the airport might have exacerbated the accident.

Before it suffered the deadliest crash in South Korea's history, budget airline Jeju Air was moving fast: racking up record passenger numbers and flying its aircraft more than domestic rivals and many of its global peers,

Son Chang-wan was in office while works were undertaken at Muan International Airport. Last month, a plane crashed into a concrete barrier there, killing 179 people.

South Korean authorities said on Wednesday they will change the concrete barriers used for navigation at some airports across the country after the Jeju Air crash that left 179 people dead.