SEOUL, March 13 (Reuters) - South Korean police investigating the 2024 Jeju Air crash said on Friday they had raided the transport ministry as part of a widening probe into whether regulatory lapses contributed to the disaster at Muan International Airport.

The raid follows an ongoing reinvestigation of wreckage led by the ministry and the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board, which has uncovered additional human remains and personal belongings more than a year after the crash, prompting renewed questions over the initial response.

Authorities have already searched regional aviation offices and contractors involved in the airport's construction as part of a broader effort to determine responsibility for the crash, which killed 179 people.

A police official declined to comment further on Friday's raid, but Yonhap News Agency cited an official as saying it was aimed at securing additional material needed for the ongoing probe into the cause of the disaster.

(Reporting by Kyu-seok ShimEditing by Ed Davies)