S.Korea's UAM project finalizes list of 46 participating companies

Forty-six companies in South Korea including three in mobile telecommunications are participating in the Korean-style urban air mobility (UAM) demonstration project K-UAM Grand Challenge, also dubbed "air taxi."

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and each company on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding on the project at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul.

The large-scale demonstration project is a joint effort by the public and private sectors in which the ministry promotes verification of UAM craft safety, creation of operating concept and preparation of technical standards to launch commercial application of UAM in 2025.

The consortium that passes the project's first stage from August this year to December next year at the Goheung Aviation Test Center in Goheung County, South Jeolla Province, will advance to the second stage of flying in semi-urban and urban areas.

SK Telecom Co., which teamed up with Joby Aviation of the US, entered the competition as the "K-UAM Dream Team" along with Hanwha Systems Co. and Korea Airports Corp.

This year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, ​​Spain, on Monday will also display a virtual UAM experience.

The consortium of KT Corp., Hyundai Motor Co. and Hyundai Engineering & Construction will take advantage of the carmaker's strengths to build a platform connecting UAM and land mobility and demonstrate the process of passengers moving from origin to destination by connecting multiple mobility plans.

LG Uplus Corp. formed the "UAM Future Team" with Kakao Mobility, GS Engineering & Construction Co. and the UK-based Vertical Aerospace to develop a communication-based traffic management platform focused on immediate response to emergencies.

Lotte Group's "Lotte Consortium" of nine companies centered on affiliate Lotte Data Information includes MintAir, Lotte Rental Co. and Lotte E&C.

In addition, the consortiums of Korean Air Lines Co. and Incheon International Airport Corp., Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. and Jeju Air Co., and a UAM industry association, Davo ENC and Drone-System are also taking part in the comprehensive project to verify operations.

Write to Sang-Eun Lucia Lee at selee@hankyung.com