As socioeconomic trends change, the mobility paradigm is also changing, and discussions on the commercialization of future mobility, including autonomous vehicles, GTX, and UAM, are ongoing. With new approaches to new businesses needed, the industry has set up a forum to discuss key policies related to next-generation transportation and future road changes.

It was suggested that in order to build a future mobility ecosystem, technological services that citizens can experience should be developed, and that government policy support and collaboration between academia, industry, and research are important.

The 'Smart Mobility Logistics Industry Exhibition (Smart TransLogistiX),' Korea's first smart road traffic and logistics industry exhibition co-hosted by COEX and the Korea Road Association, was held for three days from the 12th. On the opening day, a ‘Smart Mobility Policy Seminar’ was held, with presentations and policy discussions by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Seoul Institute, Hyundai Motor Company, Socar, and Forty Two Dot.

■ Sharing the latest industry trends such as autonomous vehicles, UAM, and shared cars

In a presentation titled “Changes in Urban Transportation Systems for a Sustainable Smart Mobility Ecosystem,” Hong Sang-yeon, a researcher at the Seoul Institute’s Transportation Systems Research Lab, said that the core value of smart mobility lies in the combination of public transportation systems and private services to improve the overall travel experience.

Next, he explained the direction of change in the urban transportation system and the strategies for its implementation, including: △development of a 'mobility hub' as a center of transportation and activity where autonomous vehicles, GTX, and UAM come together; △conversion of the concept from means-specific infrastructure to function-specific infrastructure; △installation of multi-modal lanes on trunk and branch roads; and △establishment of a mobility platform.

Researcher Hong said, "Maas is unlikely to be commercially successful, but it is a socially necessary system that will eventually have to enter the public domain." He added, "It is important to integrate distributed traffic data based on HD maps and utilize integrated traffic information systems such as 3D TOPIS to integrate, monitor, and control all traffic information."

Hyundai Motor Company's Senior Manager Youngjae Lee presented a blueprint from the perspective of ecosystem stakeholders under the theme of 'Introducing the K-UAM Ecosystem Blueprint' and asserted that he would actively contribute to the enactment of special laws.

Hyundai Motor Company has established a cooperative system among key stakeholders in the private sector with expertise in each field, including ▲Vertiport (Incheon International Airport Corporation), ▲Telecommunications (KT), ▲Construction (Hyundai Engineering & Construction), and ▲Operation (Korean Air), centered on the aircraft, and has been proposing policy and technical requirements and key tasks to the relevant ministries to overcome entry barriers.

This manager is in air mobility He said that the entry barriers include regulations and certification, aircraft development and production, airspace, social issues, and infrastructure operation, and that he is actively proposing policy and technical requirements to government ministries to overcome them.

Explaining Hyundai's strategy for building a UAM ecosystem, he said, "Vertiports will be most directly linked to ground mobility and roads, and small-scale vertiport development is expected to be centered on public land or facilities." He also added, "In UAM, the mobility platform is the most important, and seamless connectivity is required for aircraft to fly safely even at low altitudes with many obstacles. To this end, a flight information interaction platform and the linkage between ground and air mobility platforms are important."

Kim Sang-woo, head of Socar's data business division, explained the benefits of shared vehicles that can solve transportation problems and expressed his opinions on policy proposals such as eco-friendly vehicle subsidies, shared vehicle access policies for residential areas, and public transportation fare linkage systems.


■ Policy Panel Discussion... Industry, Academia, and Research Must Have the Same Values and Direction Centered on Citizens
The following discussion was attended by Professor Lee Dong-min (Seoul Metropolitan University, moderator), Director Jang Yu-jin (Road Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport), Center Director Lee Ki-young (Road Traffic Research Institute), Center Director Kim Tae-hyung (KOTI), Director Yoon Deok-geun (Korea Institute of Construction Technology), and Team Leader Jeon Jeong-gyu (Hanwha Systems).

KOTI Center Director Kim Tae-young asserted that industry, academia, and research should work together with the same goals and direction to develop technology and provide services for citizens.

Director Kim said, "It is important to introduce each single technology service, but ultimately, we need to align our values with the goals and direction of smart mobility, and we need to build a system where the government, local governments, and the private sector can collaborate." He also said, "Ultimately, a new industry ecosystem must be built based on citizen-centered services."

Deok-Geun Yoon, director of the Korea Institute of Construction Technology, said that smart mobility will transform traffic and networks into a sharing-based system, and autonomous driving will change lifestyle patterns and spaces.

He also argued that "ultimately, this is not a problem that can be solved by autonomous vehicles alone, but a problem that needs to be solved by considering changes in roads, and if that happens, it will be much easier to solve."

Hanwha Systems Team Leader Jeong-Gyu Jeon participated as a UAM aviation platform company and emphasized UAM's connection with ground mobility and marketability, arguing that "vertiports and infrastructure need to be considered from the urban planning stage in order for the industry to secure marketability and economic feasibility."

Currently, there are about 400-500 companies in each country trying to secure a global position in future air mobility. Hanwha Systems is developing a plane with a range of over 100 km and a speed of 200-300 km/h through joint development with Overair in the US, with the goal of obtaining US FAA certification in 2025.

SKT has formed a consortium with Korea Airports Corporation and is pushing for commercialization by 2025, and Hanwha Systems said, "In a time of heated global competition, we will do our best as an industry to establish ourselves in the global market as a future mobility."