Korea Office of Civil Aviation’s Kim Yeong Kook (left) and Japan Civil Aviation Bureau's Toshiyuki Onuma present the bilateral pact.
Japan and South Korea’s civil aviation regulators have agreed to mutually recognize each other’s aviation certifications and approvals.
The move should result in greater collaboration, particularly in areas of MRO, between the two countries.
Known as the “Bilateral Arrangement for the Promotion of Civil Aviation Safety,” the agreement was signed by Toshiyuki Onuma, Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau senior deputy director-general, and his South Korean counterpart Kim Yeong Kook, director general for aviation policy at the Korea Office of Civil Aviation.
The two countries will mutually accept certificates and cooperate on: airworthiness approval and monitoring plus environmental approval and environmental testing of “civil aeronautical products”; the continuing airworthiness of in-service aircraft; approval and monitoring of design and production organizations; approval and monitoring of maintenance organizations; and approval of personnel involved in maintenance and flight operations.
The bilateral summit held in Sendai, Japan, also saw the establishment of the Environmental New Technology Working Group. This will see staff from both regulators work together in areas such as electrification, hydrogen powered aircraft, weight reduction and fuel efficiency, all aimed at reducing the sector’s climate impact.
Japan and South Korea resumed the Japan-Korea Aviation Cooperation Conference in 2023 in Jeju, South Korea, after a 10-year hiatus related to strained diplomatic relations between the neighbors.
