Japan and South Korea to mutually recognize aviation certificates and approvals

Japan-South Korea Aircraft Certification Agreement
The agreement was signed at a bilateral conference in Sendai. (Image: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism)

Last week, representatives of Japan and South Korea signed a Bilateral Arrangement for the Promotion of Civil Aviation Safety. Among other things, the agreement is expected to reduce overlapping inspections.

The agreement was signed at the Japan-Korea Aviation Cooperation Conference held in Sendai between May 15 and 17, 2024, which covered topics including “air transport, aviation safety, air navigation capacity and efficiency, environmental protection, airport policy, and new technology.” It was signed for Japan by Toshiyuki Onuma, the Senior Deputy Director-General of Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau, and for South Korea by Kim Yeong Kook, Korea Office of Civil Aviation’s Director General for Aviation Policy.

The six areas in which the two countries’ certificates and approvals will be mutually recognized and in which the two countries will cooperate include:

  • Airworthiness approval and monitoring of civil aeronautical products
  • Continuing airworthiness of in-service aircraft
  • Approval and monitoring of design and production organizations
  • Approval and monitoring of maintenance organizations
  • Environmental approval and environmental testing of civil aeronautical products
  • Approval of persons involved in maintenance and flight operations

In addition to the agreement being signed, the two sides also discussed establishing a “working group for cooperation in the areas of new technologies for aircraft and equipment which can contribute to net-zero carbon emissions.” Electrification, hydrogen propulsion, weight reduction and fuel efficiency improvement are among the technologies to be discussed by the group.

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