Concerns are mounting that the Korean government's urban air mobility (UAM) policy could fall behind in the global race to capture market share. While the United States and China are accelerating commercial demonstrations and infrastructure development centered on major metropolitan areas, plans for capital-region infrastructure in Korea have failed to clear the hurdles of state funding and inter-ministry coordination.
According to reporting by The Seoul Economic Daily on Wednesday, the capital-region UAM infrastructure plan being pursued jointly by Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon has run into difficulties from its earliest stages, weighed down by the June 3 local elections, regional pledge implementation issues, and inter-ministry friction over the scope of state funding. The three jurisdictions recently formed the "Mega-Regional Skyway Alliance" and proposed to the central government a capital-region UAM infrastructure plan with a total project cost of 221.4 billion won. They have requested that 110.7 billion won — half of the total budget — be reflected in the national budget in phases starting in 2027.
The plan envisions extending the capital region's metropolitan transit network from the ground into the sky. Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon expect to cut travel time on the Jamsil-Incheon Airport route from the current 90 minutes to 20 minutes, while generating 23 trillion won in production inducement, 11 trillion won in added value, and 160,000 jobs. The three jurisdictions have also drawn up a roadmap to develop the network into a national three-dimensional transport system by linking it with a UAM hub at Gimpo Airport and a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) cluster in Incheon. However, with regional interests coming to the fore ahead of the local elections and ministries unable to narrow their differences over state funding worth hundreds of billions of won, discussions on incorporating the budget have failed to gain momentum.
Global competition is already approaching the threshold of commercialization. Morgan Stanley has projected that the autonomous aircraft market could grow to $1.5 trillion by 2040. Joby Aviation of the United States has begun aircraft flight testing for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification, while Archer Aviation is also accelerating FAA certification and initial operations preparations. China's EHang has obtained an operating certificate (OC) for autonomous air taxis from the Civil Aviation Administration and is expanding its commercial operations base in cities such as Guangzhou and Hefei.
In Korea, the capital region — where ground transportation infrastructure is saturated — is considered the optimal location for UAM. The capital region, home to 51% of the population on just 11.8% of the country's land area, has seen average travel speeds drop to 22.8 kilometers per hour. This results in tens of trillions of won in traffic congestion costs each year. Industry observers see UAM routes connecting capital-region airports to downtown hubs as virtually the only stage where actual demand and profitability can be verified. By contrast, with the government prioritizing cargo transport in non-urban areas as the target for initial commercialization in 2028, uncertainty is growing for private companies that have invested on the assumption of capital-region-based business models.
The technology competitiveness gap is another concern. UAM can move to commercialization only after verifying variables unique to major urban centers, such as building winds, communications interference, density of high-rise buildings, noise, and public acceptance. This is why critics point out that demonstrations limited to regional tourist destinations or non-urban cargo transport have limitations in securing actual urban traffic data. Although a substantial portion of airspace over the capital region is designated as no-fly zones and airspace coordination with the military remains a prerequisite, many assess that government-level coordination has been slow.
"The United States and China are accumulating UAM data in major urban centers, and it will not be easy for Korea alone to build global competitiveness without capital-region-based commercialization demonstrations and market formation," an aviation mobility expert said. "If we remain confined to demonstrations at regional tourist destinations, the technology gap with the US and China will only widen."
In response, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) maintains that large-scale state funding requires medium- to long-term review. "The capital region can also participate in the regional pilot project competition to be newly established starting in 2027," a MOLIT official said, adding that "for initial commercialization in 2028, cargo transport in non-urban areas takes priority, considering safety and public acceptance." The ministry added, "We are also pursuing demonstrations in some parts of the capital region, including signing an agreement in March this year to build urban demonstration infrastructure at KINTEX in Goyang."
