SKT Partners with Daegu City for UAM... Promoting Integrated Services Linked to Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport

Photo by SKT

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] SK Telecom announced on the 27th that it has signed a business agreement with Daegu Metropolitan City to establish Daegu as a leading city for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) in the city center.

This agreement centers on the participation of SKT, Korea Airports Corporation, and Hanwha Systems of the ‘K-UAM Dream Team’ consortium, along with T map Mobility, in building Daegu’s future mobility ecosystem and promoting UAM.

SK Telecom, Korea Airports Corporation, and Hanwha Systems have been cooperating since last year to create a UAM ecosystem, and in April, they launched the ‘K-UAM Dream Team’ consortium, including the Korea Transport Institute and the Korea Meteorological Industry Technology Institute.

The ‘K-UAM Dream Team’ plans to promote various services and infrastructure projects necessary for Daegu’s UAM demonstration and pilot projects. The consortium expects that Daegu’s UAM project will serve as an opportunity to innovate overall transportation in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region, centered on the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport, as well as urban services.

Through a three-stage implementation plan of demonstration, pilot city, and commercialization, the ‘K-UAM Dream Team’ consortium and Daegu City plan to expand from commercial UAM services in Daegu’s city center to regional air mobility services connecting Daegu’s city center and the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport by 2030.

SKT will be responsible for overall UAM service operations and UAM-specialized airspace infrastructure, while T map Mobility will develop a MaaS (Mobility as a Service) platform linking UAM and ground transportation. Korea Airports Corporation will build UAM vertiports (takeoff and landing sites) linked to the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport and provide UAM traffic management services utilizing navigation facility infrastructure. Hanwha Systems will handle aircraft development, sales, operation, maintenance, and repair (MRO), as well as the development of air traffic control solutions.

Daegu City will provide infrastructure such as vertiport operation sites and facilities and create a policy foundation for project promotion, including permits and administrative support. It will also be responsible for establishing a comprehensive policy plan for creating the Daegu UAM ecosystem.

SKT has accumulated business capabilities in all areas of the government’s UAM demonstration, including UAM flight, aircraft, and traffic management systems. Based on the technology and operational capabilities of the nation’s top telecommunications operator, it is fully preparing for commercialization from various aspects such as 5G communication infrastructure, service platforms, and quantum cryptography security.

Additionally, through synergy with its affiliate T map Mobility, SKT is conducting research on UAM flight routes and vertiport site selection. It has also established a super-collaborative system with Joby Aviation, a global partner in UAM aircraft and flight, contributing to securing differentiated competitiveness for the consortium.

Yoo Young-sang, CEO of SKT, stated, “Through collaboration with Daegu City, we will contribute to revitalizing the domestic UAM ecosystem and strive to achieve organic service linkage with the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport, which is expected to play a key role in transportation and logistics.”

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