KOREAN AIR CARRIERS SAFEST IN THE WORLD, AUDIT FINDS
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ChoSun
sun.com/w21data/html/news/200809/200809030015.html
Sept 3 2008
South Korea

Korea has received top marks for aviation safety seven years after
it was branded a loser in the category.

The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs on Tuesday
said in the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program conducted by
the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN agency,
for 190 member states, Korea tops the list of 108 countries that have
so far undergone the audit.

Korea got a safety standard compliance rating of 98.82 percent.

In the first evaluation conducted by ICAO in 2000, Korea ranked 53rd
with a safety standard compliance rating of 79.79 percent among 162
members. When the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration gave Korea a
category 2 rating in 2001, Korea was restricted in code sharing with
foreign carriers and banned from increasing flight routes to the
U.S., while U.S. soldiers and government officials were prohibited
from using Korean air carriers. Korea was given a category 1 rating
after a reassessment four months later.

ICAO assesses 190 member countries from 2005 to 2010 on 9,608 safety
standards in eight areas. Korea has achieved a compliance rating of
96.35 to 100 percent in each area.

"Until recently, the world’s top safety compliance rating was at
the 96 percent range and the world’s average was 57.77 percent,"
said Hong Soon-man, the head of Civil Aviation Safety Authority. "In
view of this, even after the ICAO’s assessment of all member states
is done by 2010, our international safety standard compliance record
will not easily be broken."

According to the interim results, Armenia ranked second with 96.32
percent and Canada third with 95.38 percent.