This combined image shows logos for Korea's major broadcasters' year-end ceremonies. KBS, MBC and SBS have canceled or suspended their year-end award ceremonies after the Jeju Air crash. Courtesy of SBS and MBC

In response to the Jeju Air plane crash that claimed 179 lives, Korea's major broadcasters canceled or suspended their year-end award ceremonies to pay respects to the victims during a seven-day national mourning period, which lasts through Saturday.

The devastating crash occurred Sunday morning when a Jeju Air flight from Bangkok to Muan, South Jeolla Province, burst into flames after belly-landing and colliding with a structure at the end of the runway. Only two of the 181 passengers survived, making it one of Korea's deadliest aviation accidents.

Year-end award ceremonies are usually a major event for Korean broadcasters, featuring special collaboration stages and showcasing actors, singers, and entertainers at their finest. However, following the tragic crash, broadcasters shifted to emergency programming and canceled scheduled TV shows and award ceremonies.

MBC canceled its annual Entertainment Awards just hours after the crash. Initially, the broadcaster planned to record the ceremony for later broadcast, but they quickly deemed it inappropriate to proceed with celebratory events during a national tragedy and decided to cancel the event entirely.

The broadcaster also postponed the 2024 MBC Drama Awards, originally slated for Monday. According to MBC, the live broadcast has been canceled and the ceremony will instead be recorded and aired at a later date.

MBC Gayo Daejejeon, an annual year-end music festival traditionally broadcast live from New Year's Eve into the New Year, had completed some pre-recordings but decided to suspend the event scheduled for Tuesday.

SBS was the first to officially call off the highly anticipated SBS Entertainment Awards scheduled for Tuesday. Despite strong expectations for its popular variety shows like "Running Man" and "Kick a Goal," the event was completely canceled with no plans for future broadcasts.

The country's largest public broadcaster, KBS, also adjusted its plans by recording, rather than live broadcasting, its Drama Awards on Tuesday. Participants will wear black and white attire as a gesture of mourning. KBS added that the rescheduled date for the recorded broadcast and the winner announcements will be provided at a later time.

The last instance when Korean TV programs were canceled during a national mourning period was in 2022, following a Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon, Seoul, which resulted in 159 fatalities.