Korean Air: An Asian champion delivers excellence in service

South Korea's exports hit an all-time record of $645bn in 2021, surging a remarkable 26% year-on-year, driving strong economic growth, according to business information service IHS Markit. Exports to the European Union rose 34%, exports to the US by 29%, to China 23%, and to ASEAN 22%. Semiconductor exports rose 29%, while those of petrochemicals soared by 55%. Auto exports jumped 24%, reaching $46.5bn. Exports of ICT products hit an all-time high of $228bn, up 24%. The huge rise in overall trade has lifted the purchasing managers' index, and drove manufacturing growth to 6.6% in 2021. Exports have been lifted by the recovery of key markets, boosted by the rollback of pandemic restrictions and accommodative fiscal and monetary policy in those markets. Other factors behind Korea's economic uptick include consumption; final consumption rose 6.8% yearon-year in the final quarter of 2021. Overall, the country's GDP rose by 4.0% in 2021.

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South Korea's position as one of Asia's strongest economies, as well as its wide-ranging appeal to foreign leisure visitors, robust domestic travel demand, and large diaspora, have made its air transportation sector a major economic contributor. The industry adds gross value added of nearly $50bn to the Korean economy, supporting more than 830,000 jobs, according to the International Air Transport Association. The core sector alone, including airlines and their supply chains, is estimated to support around $30bn of GDP. Before the pandemic, more than 75 airlines operated in the country, serving upwards of 175 destinations, with nearly 750,000 landings and takeoffs a year. Some 183 flights connected to cities in the top ten countries by passenger numbers worldwide. IATA also rates South Korea highly for cost competitiveness in its aviation sector, scoring 9.3/10 and ranking 15th in the world. The country scores an impressive 9.7/10 in the organisation's air trade facilitation index, ranking in the top 30 countries globally.

Leading this thriving industry and connecting Korea to the globe is Korean Air, the nation's flag carrier. For over five decades, Korean Air has been contributing to the country's development.

"Our core value is to contribute to the communities we serve through transportation," says Walter Cho, Chairman and CEO of both Korean Air and its owner, conglomerate Hanjin Group. "Hanjin Group started in 1945 and entered the airline business in 1969. We have grown through transporting people and cargo; every business we do is related to transportation, and we've stuck to it. We grew our freight business hand-in-hand with the boom in exports that powered the country's growth in the 1960s and 1970s, and exports remain a very large share of South Korea's GDP. We base our business on consumer demand, and are always very customer-centric."