S. Korea to host int'l forum of UN aviation agency this week

SEOUL, April 11 (Yonhap) -- The major aviation agency of the United Nations will hold a major legal forum in Seoul this week, where some 800 officials from a dozen nations will discuss ways of ensuring the safe recovery of the global aviation sector in the post-pandemic era, Seoul's land ministry said Monday. The 2022 Legal Seminar of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will kick off Tuesday for a three-day run in Seoul, as well as via teleconferencing, which is co-hosted by South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. This year's event, which will be the first in-person meeting since the pandemic began and the sixth of its kind, will bring together the ICAO's Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar; Michael Gill, its legal affairs director; and other key figures, according to the ministry. During the forum, the attendees will explore ways of promoting the global aviation industry's safe recovery from the pandemic with a focus on policies and procedures regarding public health and quarantine measures. Also on the table will be how to set rules on growing "unlawful acts" committed by passengers, and increasing cybersecurity threats faced by civil aviation. They will also discuss the global aviation industry's emission reduction efforts and the legal understanding of drones and other air mobility, according to the ministry. "This seminar is expected to give fresh momentum to the global aviation industry, which has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic," the ministry's civil aviation office chief, Kim Yong-seong, said. This year marks the 70th anniversary of South Korea joining ICAO, he said, adding that the agency's legal support helped the country achieve development in the aviation industry. In 2020, Korea ranked fifth globally in terms of aviation transport, according to government data. South Korea has been a member state of the ICAO Council for seventh straight terms since 2001 and seeks to secure another term during the General Assembly session to be held in September through October in Montreal, Canada. Established in 1947 as the U.N.'s agency, ICAO develops policies and standards of international air navigation and conducts compliance audits and other roles with a goal to ensure global civil aviation safety and to boost the capacity and efficiency of the system. graceoh@yna.co.kr (END)