SkyDrive and Verty Sign MOU to Target Commercial eVTOL Operations in South Korea by 2028

SkyDrive, a Japanese eVTOL developer, has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean firm Verty to target commercial deployment of its SD-05 electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft in South Korea by 2028. The agreement establishes a joint feasibility study covering flight safety, infrastructure and route planning, including tourist flights to Jeju Island and inter-city transit near Seoul.

Verty has verified integrated operating procedures across flight operations and vertiport management and is preparing a bid for the country's first eVTOL air operator certificate. The company is developing a tourism-focused operational model for initial commercialisation, centred on the three-seater SD-05, which it describes as suited to short-route, cost-effective operations.

Dong-Woo Kim, Chief Executive of Verty, said: "We are thrilled to join hands with SkyDrive, Japan's sole compact eVTOL developer currently pursuing type certification, as pioneering partners opening up a new era of air mobility in both nations. We determined that SkyDrive's three-seater SD-05 is the ideal aircraft for this purpose." South Korea has already established advanced air mobility roadmaps for future transport infrastructure. SkyDrive was founded by Tomohiro Fukuzawa and is active across the United States, the UAE, India and several Asia-Pacific markets.

This MOU fits the broader pattern of eVTOL developers pairing with local operators well ahead of certification, trading exclusivity or first-mover positioning for a partner who understands domestic regulatory and infrastructure processes. In advanced air mobility, feasibility studies on routes, vertiports and safety procedures typically run in parallel with the manufacturer's own type certification effort, so commercial timelines like the 2028 target depend on both tracks closing together rather than either one alone.

What happens next depends on Verty's bid for South Korea's first eVTOL air operator certificate and on the progress of SkyDrive's type certification for the SD-05, since neither has been completed yet. The tourism-anchored model, built around short routes such as Jeju Island flights, mirrors how several markets are sequencing AAM rollout through scenic or point-to-point trips before attempting denser urban transit near cities like Seoul.