'Safety is ultimately about people and culture': Korean Air hosts aviation safety forum

Government officials, airline executives, academics and representatives of international organizations gathered Wednesday to chart a new direction for aviation safety. Amid the rapid spread of AI and digital transformation across the aviation industry, the forum focused on the idea that people on the ground and organizational culture — not technology alone — are the true foundation of safety.

The 2026 Korea Aviation Safety Forum and Seminar opened Wednesday at the Grand Hyatt Incheon in Yeongjong-gu, Incheon, running through Thursday. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Aerospace University are co-hosting the event, with Korean Air, the Korea Transportation Safety Authority and the Korea Transport Institute serving as organizers. This year's theme is "People and Culture: Opening a New Paradigm for Aviation Safety Together."

The Korea Aviation Safety Forum was first held in 2024 and is now in its third year. This year it merged for the first time with the Aviation Safety Seminar, an annual event held since 1995, expanding the overall scale of the gathering. About 230 people attended, including representatives from the International Civil Aviation Organization, domestic and international aviation agencies, government bodies, airlines, academia and aircraft manufacturers.

Jeong Chae-gyo, director general for aviation policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, delivered the opening address. Korea Aerospace University President Heo Hui-yeong gave a welcoming speech emphasizing the need for cooperation in aviation safety.

Yoo Jong-seok, executive vice president for safety and health and operations at Korean Air, delivered a congratulatory address on behalf of the airline. "Even amid sweeping change, the core force that controls it and translates it into real safety ultimately comes from the people on the ground, their expertise, and the culture and collaboration built on trust," Yoo said. "Korean Air will continue to lead the way in establishing a people-centered safety culture, building a reliable safety management system, and strengthening public-private cooperation — working together with all of you to create the safest possible aviation environment."

The aviation industry has recently been reviewing operational stability and maintenance capabilities in response to rising summer passenger demand and increased international capacity. As competition among airlines intensifies, safety management systems are emerging as a factor directly tied to an airline's credibility, going well beyond mere regulatory compliance.

The forum centered on the intersection of safety culture, human factors and technological innovation. While the aviation industry is rapidly adopting AI, data analytics and predictive maintenance, the underlying premise of the event was that realizing genuine safety outcomes requires an organizational culture and leadership that allow frontline workers to speak up about risks.

The first session addressed the role and responsibilities of aviation safety leadership during a period of upheaval in the industry. Yoon Wan-chul, a KAIST professor, delivered the keynote address, followed by a panel discussion featuring chief safety officers and CEO-level executives from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and major airlines.

Panelists included Yoo Kyung-su, director general for aviation safety policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; Yoo Jong-seok of Korean Air; Jo Seong-bae, executive vice president for safety and health and operations at Asiana Airlines; Jo Jung-seok, CEO of Eastar Jet; and Lee Sang-yun, CEO of Trinity Airways.

Participants also watched a safety message video produced jointly by major aviation organizations and the CEOs of 12 domestic airlines. The segment was designed to build consensus around the need to spread a culture of safety across the entire industry, beyond the safety management systems of individual carriers.

The afternoon's second session will take up the theme "An Organization That Can Speak Up, a Culture That Learns Together," examining the current state of airline safety culture and ways to strengthen organizational resilience. The central question is how to build organizations that share and learn from accidents and errors rather than concealing them.

Professor Erik Hollnagel will deliver a lecture titled "A Shift in How We View Safety." He is expected to argue that the industry must move beyond the conventional view that the absence of accidents equals safety, and instead examine how things routinely go right on the ground. Safety-II seeks safety solutions not only in accident causes but in the everyday processes by which workers avoid hazards and successfully carry out their work.

Bennett Walsh, head of aviation safety and security at Korean Air, will present on "The Shift in Safety Paradigm and Korean Air's Just Culture," sharing plans for establishing a culture in which frontline aviation workers can freely report mistakes and warning signs — an approach known as "just culture."

The third session will focus on "Safety-II and Safety Intelligence in the Age of Digital Transformation," examining how AI can be applied in aviation and what conditions are needed to build trust among pilots and maintenance workers in AI-generated analysis.

Mark Miller, a professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a leading American aerospace institution, will lecture on building AI trust among pilots and maintenance personnel. Delta Air Lines, Air Canada and Jin Air are among the carriers that will share how they operate their safety intelligence systems. KAIST's Data Analytics Center will present insights on strategies for building a Korean-style safety intelligence framework.

On the second day, Thursday, discussions will turn to pilot competency development, AI-based predictive aircraft maintenance, digital transformation in maintenance, repair and overhaul operations, and anti-drone measures — all under the keywords of people and cooperation in aviation safety.