[Asia Exclusive] "Airports Utilizing Advanced Technology... Finding a Way Beyond COVID-19"

Yoon Hyung-jung, President of Korea Airports Corporation
Social Conditions Changed After COVID-19... "Considering How to Integrate Them into the Aviation Industry"
Global + Local Hyperconnected Era... "Preparing for a New Era Like the Fourth Industrial Revolution"

Yoon Hyung-jung, President of Korea Airports Corporation, is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 12th. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The key topic occupying the mind of Yoon Hyung-jung, President of Korea Airports Corporation, is ‘post-COVID-19.’ The challenge lies in how to integrate the changed overall social conditions and economic and technological levels into the aviation industry. President Yoon encourages his staff by saying, "We must prepare for the changed trends like the Fourth Industrial Revolution, beyond merely restoring the pre-COVID-19 levels."

Recently, I met President Yoon at the Korea Airports Corporation office in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. He will mark his 100th day in office on the 4th of next month. Over the past three months, Yoon has had an exceptionally hectic schedule. About a month after his inauguration, he held several video conferences with airports in regions frequently connected with Korea, such as Japan’s Haneda Airport, Singapore, and Vietnam. At the recent International Airport Council (AIC) Asia-Pacific regional meeting, he took time to meet consecutively with executives from major countries’ airport authorities, including Taiwan, Macau, and Cambodia.

Seeing the resumption of international routes as imminent, he reviewed each country’s COVID-19 and quarantine issues and requested cooperation. The promise to restore the ‘Gimpo-Haneda’ route, made when President Yoon Seok-yeol took office and met with a Japanese parliamentary delegation, was a great encouragement to him. He said, "The Gimpo-Haneda route was a golden route before COVID-19, operating 168 flights weekly with an 85% load factor. Resuming it signifies a meaningful change in Korea-Japan relations," adding, "Increased exchanges between the people will also help improve Korea-Japan relations."

Yoon Hyung-jung, President of Korea Airports Corporation, is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 12th. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

Although the airport, aviation, and travel industries have struggled due to COVID-19, Yoon sees this as an opportunity to prepare for a new era. With navigation and piloting technologies advancing dramatically and growing social concerns about noise and environmental pollution around airports, he believes that embracing the changed circumstances and starting anew, as is happening now, may be the best approach.

An immediately noticeable change is the rediscovery of regional areas. With domestic travel increasing and Korean cultural content such as K-pop gaining popularity overseas, there is a high possibility that demand for entry through regional airports without passing through Incheon will rise in neighboring countries. Shortly after his appointment, Yoon personally visited 11 of the 14 airports nationwide, including 7 international airports. The concept of a ‘glocal’ airport group, connecting global and local regions directly, stems from this background.

He noted, "Only Jeju Airport recorded a profit last year, and it has been difficult for regional airports to generate revenue," but added, "Regional tourism is reviving, and inbound demand from overseas, driven by the Korean Wave, is likely to be linked with regional airports in the future."

He also believes that urban air mobility (UAM), considered a future mode of transportation, may arrive sooner than expected. Aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing and autonomous driving will need infrastructure to operate and be managed, and the Korea Airports Corporation, with decades of operational know-how, is best suited for this. Before operating in densely built urban areas, it is necessary to fully develop capabilities in relatively less congested, low-density environments.

Yoon Hyung-jung, President of Korea Airports Corporation, is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 12th. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

He said, "We are forming a ‘UAM Dream Team’ with companies and institutions possessing top technologies in each field, preparing for tourism and public-use UAM projects targeting 2025 in low-density flight environments," emphasizing, "As technology advances in range and size, long-distance flights between cities will become possible, so we can contribute to building new aviation infrastructure by utilizing regional airports as hubs."

He is also very interested in enhancing passenger convenience by making airports smarter through advanced technologies. A representative example is the palm vein authentication system, the first of its kind introduced in Korea. It uses pre-registered personal biometric information during check-in and is considered a more advanced technology compared to fingerprints or iris scans, which are susceptible to forgery. Currently, only about a quarter of airport users utilize it, but efforts are underway to increase registrations by linking with financial institutions and public agencies that handle many face-to-face transactions.

The plan to expand the use of AI-integrated X-ray technology for baggage inspection nationwide is underway, with overseas exports also in mind. President Yoon said, "Airplanes should become as convenient as the KTX (Korea Train Express). If more passengers use these systems, the entire country’s transportation flow will become smarter, not just airports."

▲ Born 1967 ▲ Yonsei University, Department of Political Science and International Relations ▲ Master’s in International Security, Georgetown University, USA ▲ 1992 National Intelligence Service ▲ 2019 Cyber Information Secretary, Blue House ▲ 2020 First Deputy Director, National Intelligence Service ▲ 2022 President, Korea Airports Corporation

Interview by Lee Cho-hee, Head of Industry Department; Organized by Choi Dae-yeol, Reporter

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.