Yoon Hyung-jung, President of Korea Airports Corporation, "Ultra-convergent Glocal Strategy... Connecting Overseas and Regional Airports"

Consideration of Hosting the 2025 ACI General Assembly in Busan
Focusing Corporation's Capabilities on Overseas Airport Projects, Smart Airport Exports, and UAM Business

Korea Airports Corporation held an experience event at Gimpo Airport by inviting children of Afghan special contributors in celebration of Family Month. The photo shows Yoon Hyung-jung, President of Korea Airports Corporation (left), looking at the runway with the children of Afghan special contributors.

Photo by Korea Airports Corporation

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] "We will prioritize the resumption of international flights as the core task and propel Korea Airports Corporation to a new leap forward with a 'super-convergent Glocal strategy' that encompasses both the global and regional characteristics of regional airports."

Yoon Hyung-jung, President of Korea Airports Corporation, announced this goal at a regular briefing held on the 24th.

President Yoon will mark his 100th day in office on the 4th of next month. Since his inauguration in February, he has held meetings by inviting representatives of low-cost carriers (LCCs) and full-service carriers (FSCs). He also continued a series of meetings with the travel industry, duty-free industry, and the entire aviation and tourism ecosystem to breathe new life into them. He explained, "It is not enough to just resume routes; we must revitalize the entire aviation and travel ecosystem together," adding, "We cooperated organically to concentrate all possible efforts."

To resume the symbolic route between the capitals of South Korea and Japan, Gimpo~Haneda, he began video conferences with the Chairman of Japan Airport Terminal Co. at the end of March, and continued cooperation with major overseas airport authorities through second-round virtual meetings with Singapore Changi Airport, Taiwan Taoyuan Airport, and Japan Airport Terminal. He said, "Coincidentally, after the new government took office, the improvement trend for Korea-Japan relations has been highlighted with speed," and added, "On the 11th, the President requested that the Gimpo~Haneda route be opened in May, which is very appreciated from the corporation's perspective."

Korea Airports Corporation is considering hosting the '2025 International Civil Aviation Organization (ACI) General Assembly' in Busan as a practical measure of the Glocal strategy. He said, "We plan to create an opportunity to introduce Busan, where Gimhae Airport is located, to ACI member countries and fully realize the corporation's 'Glocal strategy,' which is the 'globalization of regional airports,'" adding, "By hosting the ACI General Assembly, which involves about 1,950 airports from 185 countries worldwide, we plan to showcase Urban Air Mobility (UAM), an emerging future air transportation mode, in collaboration with leading domestic companies."

Korea Airports Corporation aims to make this year a period for a new leap forward in the aviation industry. He emphasized, "2022 is not a recovery to the pre-COVID-19 era but a time for a new leap in the aviation industry in the new normal era," and added, "We will continue close cooperation with domestic and international aviation and tourism industries to recover aviation demand, focus the corporation's capabilities on overseas airport projects, smart airport exports, and the future potential of UAM." He further stated, "We plan to establish a cooperative system among key domestic and international players and utilize regional airports as hubs to contribute to building future aviation infrastructure."