Goyang Mayor Min Kyungseon: "KINTEX Vertiport, 2028 Pilot Operations to Be Prepared Without a Hitch"

Goyang City Steps Up Development of KINTEX Vertiport
Completion Set for Late 2027, Pilot Operations to Begin in 2028
South Korea's First Vertiport to Apply Korean Design Standards
Company Recruitment Linked to Industrial Cluster Development

Goyang Special City in Gyeonggi Province plans to complete the KINTEX Vertiport, an urban air mobility (UAM) demonstration facility, by the end of 2027 and begin demonstrations and pilot operations in 2028. Alongside building the facility, the city aims to secure participating companies and establish an operating system, developing the area around KINTEX into a hub for the future air mobility industry.

Goyang Special City Mayor Min Kyung-sun (left) receives a briefing on facility layout and other matters. Provided by Goyang City.

On October 26, Goyang Mayor Min Kyungseon visited the KINTEX Vertiport construction site in Daehwa-dong, Ilsanseo-gu, to inspect progress. He toured the sites designated for the takeoff and landing area, passenger terminal, hangar, and research and office building, and called for quality and safety management and efforts to minimize inconvenience to residents during construction.

A vertiport is a facility where UAM aircraft take off and land and passengers board and disembark. The KINTEX Vertiport will be built on a site of approximately 15,085 square meters and include a takeoff and landing area, passenger terminal, hangar, research and office building, and control and security facilities. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will fund the entire project cost of approximately 20.19 billion won, while Goyang City will provide the project site.

According to the city, the facility will be a comprehensive demonstration infrastructure project and the first in South Korea to apply Korean vertiport design standards. It will test not only aircraft takeoffs and landings but also flight and traffic management, integrated operations between vertiports, and air traffic control, communications, and security systems in a real urban environment.

The city plans to first consider a Han River tourism service using the existing demonstration corridor. After confirming its safety and commercial viability, it plans to expand the service in stages to include connections to Gimpo Airport and metropolitan-area transportation.

The city plans to complete all facilities by the end of 2027 and begin demonstrations and pilot operations in 2028. Building on the demonstration facility, it also plans to create an industrial cluster bringing together research, demonstration, and operational functions, along with related companies.

Min Kyungseon (right), mayor of Goyang Special City, receives a briefing on facility placement and other matters. Provided by Goyang City.

“The KINTEX Vertiport is a key foundation for testing future air mobility technologies and services in an urban environment and connecting them to industry,” Mayor Min said. “We will complete the facility safely and on schedule while ensuring that preparations for pilot operations and attracting companies proceed smoothly, and grow Goyang into the center of South Korea’s UAM industry.”

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