The Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) held a briefing session on the designation of urban air mobility (UAM) ‘demonstration operation zones’ on 13 August. MOLIT’s K-UAM initiative encompasses drone operations as well as air taxis and other advanced air mobility capabilities in urban environments. At the briefing, the ministry said it intends to accelerate the designation process for the early commercialisation of UAM by 2028.
Approximately 80 representatives from local government and public institutions currently preparing for UAM projects attended the session, which also included guidelines for drafting operational plans.
“While core technologies such as traffic management systems have previously been verified in demonstration project areas like the Goheung Test Complex and Ara Waterway, the new demonstration operation zone system marks a step forward by focusing on preparations for actual services available to the public,” MOLIT said. “Within these zones, infrastructure such as vertiports will be established, and actual operational environments, including flight paths and airspace, will be designed and coordinated. A variety of UAM services, such as passenger and cargo transport and tourism, will be operated.”
By applying regulatory exemptions under the Republic of Korea’s Urban Air Mobility Act, the initiative will accumulate real-world flight experience and verify safety and operational systems in stages. Local governments and public institutions pursuing early commercialisation must be designated as pilot operation zones, which enables them to operate UAM services tailored to local characteristics.
MOLIT plans to conduct a preliminary application call (August 24–September 4) to review and provide support regarding key aspects such as airspace, vertiports and safety management ahead of a formal applications process.
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This story was created with the assistance of translation software