Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Flying cars coming to Jeju in 2025
Oh Young-hun, from left, the governor of Jeju, Hanwha Systems CEO Eoh Sung-chul, SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang and Korea Airports Corporation (KAC) CEO Yoon Hyeong-jung pose for a photo after signing an agreement to launch an urban air mobility (UAM) service on Jeju Island in 2025 at the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office, Wednesday. Courtesy of SK Telecom
By Baek Byung-yeul
SKT, Hanwha, KAC to launch UAM service on Jeju Island in 2025
By Baek Byung-yeul
A consortium comprised of SK Telecom, Hanwha Systems and Korea Airport Corporation (KAC) will begin an urban air mobility (UAM) service in the country's southernmost island Jeju in 2025 as part of their efforts to become leaders in the emerging air taxi business, they said Wednesday.
The consortium, called K-UAM Dream Team, said it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province to launch a test operation of the UAM service connecting the Jeju International Airport with famous sightseeing venues of the island.
Under the agreement, the three companies and the Jeju provincial government will produce UAMs, set up telecommunication systems as well as a traffic management system and construct vertiports ―launch bases specially designed for aircrafts that land and take off vertically ― on the island.
“Jeju Island is the largest tourist destination in Korea, so it is easy to attract a large number of users. As the consortium will use the resources of the Jeju International Airport and navigation facilities of KAC, the island is a good place to commercialize the UAM service quickly,” a spokesman of SK Telecom said.
When asked about the cost and other details of the air taxi service, the spokesman added, “There is still a long way to go before talks about the service fees. We will focus on bigger things first, such as building a transportation management system for commercializing the air taxi service.”
For the test operation in 2025, SK Telecom is in charge of providing UAM services, based on a cooperation with U.S.-based flying car company Joby Aviation, developing and operating mobility platforms and communications systems.
KAC provides UAM traffic management services by building vertiports and other infrastructure while Hanwha Systems manufactures aircrafts and develops navigation and control systems.
Once the consortium confirms the safety of their air taxi service on the island, they plan to expand the service in downtown areas of cities across the country, which require more complex management.
While major cities around the world, such as Los Angeles, Paris and Osaka, are planning to commercialize air taxi services between 2024 and 2025, the consortium expects the test operation on Jeju Island to be the first one in Korea.
SK Telecom, Hanwha Systems and KAC have worked together to create an ecosystem for the UAM business here since 2021, and the three companies launched a consortium in April, joining hands with state-run agencies the Korea Transport Institute and the Korea Meteorological Institute.
“We will make Jeju Island, an eco-friendly tourist attraction, into an innovative foundation for UAM so that we can be a game changer for future mobility services,” SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang said in a statement, adding that the consortium will set mid- to long-term goals to produce visible results from the UAM service.