The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is launching the Korean Urban Air Mobility (K-UAM) Demonstration Project (Grand Challenge) in earnest to realize the commercialization of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) by 2025.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 21st that it held the '5th UAM Team Korea (UTK) Main Council' meeting at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, presided over by Kang Hee-up, Standing Member of the Metropolitan Area Wide-Area Transportation Committee, with the participation of 47 organizations from the private, public, academic, and research sectors in the UAM field.

'UAM Team Korea (UTK)' is a policy community comprising 47 organizations, and it was reported that at this meeting, they deliberated on plans to promote demonstration projects with the goal of commercializing UAM by 2025, reported on the current status and achievements of policy implementation, and discussed future UAM policy directions.

The approved demonstration project is being pursued to verify the safety of UAM for commercialization in 2025 and to establish operational concepts and technical standards suitable for domestic conditions.

Phase 1 of the demonstration project will conduct integrated operational tests in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, targeting all six consortia, including verification of the safety of UAM airframes and communication systems, infrastructure such as vertiports, and operational scenarios (normal and abnormal).
In particular, reflecting the demands of the private sector, the demonstration period will be significantly extended from the existing 8 months ('23.8–'24.3) to 17 months ('23.8–'24.12).

Phase 2 of the demonstration project is scheduled to be conducted from July 2024 to June 2025 with pilots on board in actual semi-urban and urban environments (metropolitan area) for the consortiums that passed Phase 1.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also discussed the progress of legislation to apply regulatory exceptions to demonstration and pilot projects to support UAM commercialization, the establishment of operational concepts for initial pilot projects (tourism and public use), and plans to prepare guidelines for UAM-specialized smart city planning.

Kang Hee-eop, Standing Commissioner of the Metropolitan Area Wide-Area Transportation Committee, stated, “A private-sector-led UAM industry ecosystem is being established through the diverse efforts of the participating organizations in UAM Team Korea,” adding, “We will spare no policy and institutional support, including regulatory exemptions and infrastructure, and we look forward to Korean Urban Air Mobility (K-UAM) leading the global market through the demonstrations starting next year.”