Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) has established a pilot operation model to launch an initial Urban Air Mobility (UAM) demonstration service in 2028 and is formally beginning a project to train specialized personnel, according to the Seoul Economic Daily news service.
Unveiled at the “2026 Drone & UAM Expo,” Transport Minister Kim Yun-deok has launched a pilot operation model for the launch of initial UAM pilot services in 2028 outlined three initial trial use-cases: tourist flights based on a single vertiport, connecting flights to remote destinations and a network which connect city centre vertiports with major hub airports.
Participants will be limited to aircraft that have obtained overseas Type Certification (TC), domestic Type Certification Validation (TCV), and Standard Airworthiness Certification; aircraft pending TCV completion may be permitted to conduct demonstration or test flights following a verification process. Operations will require a pilot on board and are restricted to daylight hours (sunrise to sunset) under weather conditions of at least 5 km visibility and a cloud base of 450 m or higher; limited to one aircraft per flight corridor and a maximum of 10 one-way flights per day.
Pre-designed flightpaths will be limited to an altitude of 300–600 m, a width of at least 600 m, and a length of up to 50 km (one-way). Participants will use current ATM and airport infrastructure.
“Insurance is mandatory, requiring liability coverage of 150 million won for death and permanent disability, 30 million won for injury, and 1 billion won for property damage,” says the news source. “The ministry, together with the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, will also launch a project to train Korea’s first UAM pilots and mechanics in preparation for commercialization in 2028. The measure aims to reduce initial reliance on foreign specialists. The selection fields are piloting and maintenance, and training will be tailored separately for the public and private sectors.
For more information
https://en.sedaily.com/finance/2026/07/15/korea-sets-first-uam-pilot-model-for-2028-begins-training
(Image: Seoul-Shutterstock)