Four consortiums bid for Seoul’s flying car program

A total of four consortiums announced their bids for the government-run urban air mobility (UAM) program titled K-UAM Grand Challenge on Tuesday. 

The aim of the program is to select a single operator to be in charge of commercializing the next-generation mobility service from 2025.

The UAM or air taxi market is forecast to reach 1,800 trillion won ($1.4 billion) in value by 2040. 

SK Telecom Co. was the latest player to announce its bid to join the already crowded race.

The telecom giant has forged a consortium with Hanwha Systems, Korea Airports Corp., the Korea Meteorological Institute, as well as LX. The aircraft itself will be made by California-based aerospace company Joby Aviation. 

Ahead of SK’s announcement, another wireless carrier LG Uplus Corp. and automotive behemoth Hyundai Motor Group have already announced their bids. 

LG Uplus has formed a consortium with Pablo Air, Kakao Mobility, Jeju Air, and GS Caltex. British aerospace manufacturer Vertical Aerospace will make the aircraft. 

South Korea’s top automobile conglomerate Hyundai Motor Company is leading its own consortium consisting of the country’s second largest wireless carrier KT Corp., Korean Air Lines Co., Hyundai Engineering & Construction, and the Incheon International Airport Corp. 

Hyundai has an ambitious business plan to build a UAM ecosystem, in which the chaebol takes care of all aspects of the next-gen aircraft from manufacturing to management. 

Last but not least, Lotte Group has also formed a consortium – consisting of Lotte Rental Co., Lotte Engineering & Construction, California-based Mobius.energy and more. Chicago-based gyroplane manufacturer SKyworks Aeronautics will build the aircraft. 

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport is expected to select some of its top choices to operate the country's UAM businesses sometime this year. 

The chosen operators will work with the South Korean government to check the validity and safety of the aircraft and set various standards. 

The first phase of testing kicks off next year with pilot flights at the Korea Institute of Aviation Safety Technology located in South Jeolla Province. The operator will run limited services in select urban areas the following year. 

(Updated on June 7 to note that the number of operators is not limited to a single consortium)

Write to Han-Gyeol Seon at always@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.