[NewsSpace=JeongYoung Kim]  The safety level of Korean Air, the top airline in South Korea, has been ranked as the lowest among 11 domestic airlines. This evaluation was conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which conducted a comprehensive assessment of safety levels for large and low-cost carriers (LCCs) in 2022.

Despite achieving record-high performance with sales of KRW 13.4 trillion and operating profit of KRW 2.8 trillion in the previous year, Korean Air ranked last in the most critical category of "accidents in the previous year" with a score of 4 out of 10.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 3rd, Korean Air received only 4 out of 10 points in the category of "accidents in the previous year" out of the total score of 100 points, which accounts for 10% of the overall evaluation.

Last year, a Korean Air aircraft collided with an Icelandair plane and damaged its tail wing while taxiing for takeoff at London Heathrow Airport in February. In October of the same year, another incident occurred when A Korean Air plane experienced an incident at Cebu Airport in the Philippines, where it overshot the runway and sustained damage to its fuselage while attempting to land in adverse weather conditions.

Korean Air reportedly received low scores in a total of 24 items, including safety performance in the areas of safety supervision, operations, regulatory violations, and equipment defects.

Korean Air stated, "As we operate the largest fleet of 157 aircraft in the country, accidents cannot be completely avoided," and expressed its commitment to further efforts in maintenance and safety. Fly Gangwon and others also scored low in the rankings. On the other hand, Air Busan took the top spot in overall safety levels, while Air Premia and Asiana Airlines ranked 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Since 2020, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has been conducting safety level assessments for domestic airlines, but this is the first time the results have been made public. Jeong Yong-sik, Director-General for Aviation Safety Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "We are intensively managing risks for each airline in preparation for the full recovery of international air routes after the COVID-19 pandemic," and added that the ministry will strengthen on-site supervision activities by forming an aviation safety advisory committee composed of private sector experts.

Overall, the aviation industry in South Korea is being closely monitored for safety management in the wake of these assessments.