▲ Incheon International Airport apron
The domestic aviation industry invested a total of 13,309.8 billion won in safety last year.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced today (the 2nd) that it analyzed the 2025 aviation safety investment performance and 2026-2027 investment plans of 17 domestic airlines, Incheon International Airport Corporation, and Korea Airports Corporation, revealing these figures.
Last year's safety investment increased by 115.5% compared to the previous year (6,176.9 billion won).
However, this is largely attributed to the inclusion of new aircraft acquisition costs and flight and cabin crew hiring costs into the scope of safety investments.
A total of 3,879.8 billion won was spent on introducing 43 new aircraft, and 3,381.7 billion won was injected into hiring safety-related personnel.
The average age of aircraft operated by domestic airlines dropped from 12.4 years in 2024 to 12.1 years in 2025.
Excluding the introduction of new aircraft, safety investments stood at 9,042.4 billion won, marking a 69.3% increase from the previous year (5,339.7 billion won).
By sector, 3,384.8 billion won was invested in aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), 1,876.1 billion won in engine and parts purchases and leases, and 225 billion won in maintenance facilities and equipment.
By company, full-service carriers (FSCs) Korean Air and Asiana Airlines accounted for 68.4% of the total, investing 7,224.15 billion won and 1,875.4 billion won, respectively.
Among low-cost carriers (LCCs), Trinity Airlines led with 990.62 billion won, followed by Jeju Air (977.57 billion won), Eastar Jet (559.02 billion won), and Jin Air (407.99 billion won).
The amount of safety investment per 10,000 aircraft operations was highest for Parata Airlines (793.22 billion won), Air Premia (553.21 billion won), and Korean Air (490.73 billion won), in that order.
Safety investment per aircraft was led by Korean Air (43.26 billion won), Eastar Jet (27.95 billion won), and Asiana Airlines (27.58 billion won).
The aviation industry plans a total of 17,446.2 billion won in safety investments this year, including 7,066.3 billion won allocated to introduce 60 new aircraft.
Next year, the scale of safety investments is projected to decrease due to the adjustment of overlapping investments resulting from airline integrations.
The number of new aircraft scheduled for introduction next year is 28.
Yoo Kyung-su, Director General for Aviation Safety Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "We will strive to establish a safety management culture that recognizes safety investment not merely as a cost, but as the foundation for long-term competitiveness and growth."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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