Officials pose for a photo at the launch ceremony of the Global Association for Advanced Air Mobility at Lotte World Tower in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

South Korea took the initiative to lead standardization in the global advanced air mobility sector as it launched the Global Association for Advanced Air Mobility, or G3AM, in Seoul on Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the G3AM is the world’s first global association for AAM standardization.

A total of 67 companies have joined the association as members, including Korean firms such as Korean Air, Hanwha Systems, Hyundai Motor, SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, the US’ OneSky, Padina Group and ANRA Technologies as well as Skyports from the UK. The ministry said other leaders in the AAM field such as Joby Aviation and Volocopter are considering joining the G3AM.

The ministry pointed out that it is crucial to secure international standards in the AAM sector for reliability and sustainability, as it applies various digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, mobile communication and data. Because the industries related to the AAM ecosystem are still in the very early stages, the ministry underscored that now is the right time to take the lead in global AAM standardization.

“The AAM sector is where Korea can secure the lead through digital technology standardization,” said Jeon Young-su, director general of the ICT Industry Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT.

“We will provide support so that the G3AM can set its footing as a globally recognized standardization organization and play a pivotal role in forming the AAM ecosystem and advancing relevant technologies.”

The ministry said the G3AM will serve as a de-facto organization for developing and maintaining new standards in areas across the AAM sector such as information sharing systems, traffic management and traffic control and essential navigation capabilities and performances while ensuring interoperability and compatibility between these standards.

“Over 500 multinational aviation companies worldwide are currently in the process of developing innovative air mobility aircraft to achieve mass production by 2025,” said Moon Woo-chun, chair of the G3AM.

“The Korean government is also working to establish an industrial ecosystem with the goal of introducing commercial offerings by 2025.”

According to the G3AM, Morgan Stanley predicts that the global AAM market will reach $1.47 trillion by 2040.

Following the launch ceremony of the G3AM held at Lotte World Tower in the eastern part of the capital city, a series of conferences discussed the pilot test of Korea’s urban air mobility development project, electric vertical take-off and landing, better known as eVTOL, advanced air vehicles and vertiports, which refer to areas that can support the landing and take-off of eVTOL aircraft during flight operations.