Changbong KANG, Director of the Advanced Aviation Division at KIAST

What can you tell us about your current position and professional background? What is the role of KIAST in the drone industry?

Changbong Kang, KIAST: Following my graduation from the Republic of Korea Air Force Academy, I earned a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering and worked at the Air Force Research Institute for 20 years, overseeing aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV) development and operations. Afterward, I moved to KIAST, a public institution responsible for civil aircraft and drone safety as well as industry promotion. Since 2015, I have been in charge of drone policy development and industrial promotion, and my current position is Director of the Advanced Aviation Division. I have managed various national support projects related to drones, such as UTM construction, demonstration projects, and the establishment of flight test centers.

KIAST is a public organization specialized in aviation safety, dedicated to nurturing aviation safety experts and focused on certifying, testing, researching, and developing technologies to prevent aviation accidents and incidents. Since 2015, we have been conducting research on drone-related laws, systems, and policies, and we are responsible for promoting the industry through government-funded demonstration projects, such as drone demonstration cities and commercialization support projects, as well as safety standard research and infrastructure development projects, including flight test centers.

What is your perspective on the commercial drone market in the next years?

Changbong Kang, KIAST: As analyzed in the "Drone Market Report 2025-2030," the drone market is projected to experience rapid growth, with its market size expanding due to competition among countries and companies in the commercial drone sector. Recently, the active use of civilian commercial drones in conflict zones has accelerated the trend towards militarizing these drones. This shift moves beyond the traditional concept of developing and operating weapon-centric unmanned aerial vehicles in the defense sector, and is expected to significantly impact the commercial market.

The previously observed market bias towards specific countries is anticipated to diminish due to rising protectionism, particularly concerning Chinese products, the increased military application of commercial drones, and the need for nations to secure their own supply chains. Consequently, military demand for civilian drones (including suicide drones, paper/box drones like Spypaq UAVs, and border patrol drones) is expected to surge. Moreover, there will be a heightened demand for technological development in key components and international supply chain cooperation to ensure stable supply.

Furthermore, it is expected that the expansion of drone registration targets and the implementation of Remote ID, which are crucial for enhancing drone acceptance and safe airspace integration, will be feasible. Additionally, the establishment of performance-based risk management and UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management) standards and regulations is anticipated in the short term.

How do you perceive the Korean drone market in relation to other countries such as the USA, Japan, or Germany?

Changbong Kang, KIAST: The drone industry in Korea differs from other countries in that the central and local governments jointly create laws, systems, and policies related to drones, and carry out financial support projects and research and development based on these, expanding to meet global market demand driven by public infrastructure needs. In 2019, the "Act on Promotion of Drone Utilization and Establishment of Infrastructure" (Drone Act) was enacted, stipulating the legal basis for establishing a basic plan for drone industry development, surveying the drone industry status, establishing a drone industry council, establishing and operating UTM, designating a drone special free zone/startup support, etc.

As a result of these efforts, over the past five years (2020-2024), there has been a 22.4% CAGR, a fourfold increase in the number of registered drones, a 14.2-fold increase in the number of pilots, a 1.8-fold increase in the number of businesses, and 11 national infrastructure facilities to support drone development, testing, certification, qualification, etc.

Additionally, KIAST is developing and operating a drone information portal, enabling anyone to easily access all information about drones. The drone information portal provides comprehensive drone information by uploading it in real-time, and its main contents include government policies related to drones in Korea, detailed information about drone companies, and performance and verification results for developed drones. Developers can also apply for flight permissions and infrastructure facility access through the drone information portal. This allows the government, industry, and users to share real-time information, minimizing unnecessary trial and error and waste.

Do you view the current geopolitical dynamics as an opportunity or a risk for the Korean drone industry?

Changbong Kang, KIAST: It is not necessarily judged that the geopolitical conditions of the division between the South and the North directly affect the drone industry. All industries, including drones, target global markets and standards, and are indeed showing an edge in international competition in various industries. However, due to these geopolitical conditions, there is a peculiarity: civilian commercial drone technology is developed and demanded as military drones to meet military demand. Similarly, in most countries, civilian drone technology has the advantage of developing faster and at higher levels because civil-military cooperation is based on actual demand to apply the excellent commercial drone technology of the private sector to the military.

What are the three biggest challenges facing the Korean drone market and why?

Changbong Kang, KIAST: The first is to expand demand. As of 2024, the number of registered drones in Korea (MTOW 2kg or more) is 64,863. When expanding to drones weighing less than 2kg, it is estimated to be about 3 million. Most of the registered drones are from government/public institutions and private companies/educational institutions. On the other hand, there are about 6,000 registered drone manufacturers, of which 1,200 are manufacturing companies. Eventually, we faced the problem that demand is limited compared to manufacturing companies, and we have reached a stage where we have to enter the global market.

The second is to foster competitive companies. There has been quantitative growth through government-led industrial promotion, but the reality is that competitive companies in the global market are limited. There are companies that play the role of global top-tier in some use cases, such as drone light shows, inspection, delivery, and anti-drone systems, but many companies are unable to rely on government financial projects or create competitive technologies/products. The third is to secure stable supply chains and core technology capabilities. Efforts are needed to secure stable global supply chains for some core technologies and parts that are highly dependent on foreign countries. In addition, it is promoting its own technology development and production in Korea for motors, batteries, and flight controllers (FC). Efforts are already underway to apply the world's best electric, electronic, and semiconductor technologies to drones.

When do you expect the regulatory situation to allow the scale of BVLOS operation?

Changbong Kang, KIAST: Various laws and policies that allow BVLOS are in effect in Korea. A “special flight approval system” to approve night flights and BVLOS flights has been in effect since 2018, and a total of 1,198 cases have been approved as of 2024, of which 145(12%) are cases of BVLOS approval. 80 km and 56 km drone delivery cases can be carried out for up to 6months with one approval.

In addition, BVLOS flights are possible through government financial support demonstration projects such as “drone demonstration cities projects” and “commercialization support projects”, and through this, commercialization models are being developed in various use-cases such as delivery/inspection/air disinfection.

It has been developing the UTM system since 2018, and has been preparing to use it as a government policy since 2026. When the time comes when UTM is applied to actual drones, BVLOS flights are expected to be much free and more active.

Many fear that the AAM/eVTOL industry could face collapse, particularly due to the costly certification processes. How is the Korean AMM industry being supported?

Changbong Kang, KIAST: KIAST is a public certification organization delegated by law by the government. The Korean government recognizes that the period and cost of meeting certification standards after development is one of the biggest challenges of the new future air mobility, and operates a UAM Team Korea composed of industrial, academic, research, and related organizations to empathize with and solve these problems from the development stage. In addition, the “Act on the Promotion of and Support for Utilization of Urban Air Mobility (Urban Air Mobility Traffic Act)" was enacted in November 2023, and based on this, regulations such as "type certification and airworthiness certification" are not applied in the Demonstration Project Zones.