SEOUL: Combined investment made by the Republic of Korea aviation industry to ensure safe air travel rose 38 percent on-year in 2023 to reach over 5.8 trillion won (US$4.18 billion), government data showed Thursday. Yonhap News Agency quoted the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as saying that the combined spending on air travel safety by 18 domestic air travel operators and airport operators amounted to 5.84 trillion won last year, up from 4.23 trillion won in 2022. Among international transport operators, spending by large carriers and low-cost carriers reached 4.36 trillion won and 1.21 trillion won, respectively. By individual airline, industry leader Korean Air Co. spent 2.8 trillion won and Asiana Airlines Inc. invested 1.57 trillion won, up 51.6 percent and 35.7 percent, respectively, compared with the previous year. For airport operators, Korea Airports Corp. spent 89.5 billion won last year for safety, up 20.7 percent from 2022, while investment by Incheon International Airport Corp. fell 3.1 percent to 169 billion won, the ministry said. Source: Emirates News Agency