Let Samsung and Hyundai enter the space race

Korea can open the way to space only when KASA follows the paths of KIST and NASA without being swayed by political winds.

Choi Joon-hoThe author is an editorial writer and senior reporter on science at the JoongAng Ilbo. Just as artificial intelligence changes the lives of humanity, the space industry rushes to revolutionize them. Developing space is not a choice, but a necessity, as a new platform to launch promising future industries beyond the level of inquisitively exploring the beginning of universe or just showing off a country’s power.

The arrival of Korea’s new space era was marked by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s remarks in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang last month. Attending an event to celebrate the launch of a space industry cluster in the southern city, which is home to the country’s aerospace sector, Yoon said the rest of the world is fiercely competing over space because “it holds the key to each country’s future and, more broadly, to mankind’s future.” He added, “Space powers leading the space industry will soon lead the world.” The size of the space economy is expected to reach $2.7 trillion in 2040.

After all the twists and turns, the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) finally opens on Monday under the stewardship of founding president Yoon Young-bin, 61, a professor of aerospace engineering at Seoul National University. The weight of the first president of Korea’s space agency is heavy, as the direction — and competitiveness — of the space industry is determined by who orchestrates the new organization.

Yoon is a frontrunner in the area of space propulsion in Korea. He received a Ph.D. at the University of Michigan for his research on the intriguing phenomenon of supersonic combustion on scramjet engines at speeds beyond Mach 6 and 7. In 2001, he started studying the injection systems of liquid-propellant rocket engines after his laboratory at SNU was selected as a National Research Lab, and in 2013 served as head of the Space Propulsion Research Center — which was designated by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning as an Engineering Research Center — to carry out research on developing low-cost, high-efficiency liquid-propellant rocket engines.

The following interview was conducted in his office at the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology in Gwanghwamun Square on May 16, 11 days before his Monday inauguration as head of the KASA in Sacheon.

Q. When did you receive the proposal for the new position from the government?A. It came from the presidential office in mid-March. As it was unexpected, I was surprised. At first, I refused the proposal as I thought it would be better for the government to appoint someone else with more experience and expertise than me, given the gravity of the job as founding president of the first space agency. But after repeated requests from the government, I accepted the proposal. I received the final confirmation four days before the official announcement.

What’s the meaning of the launch of KASA? As space areas are fast expanding to economy and security beyond the realm of technology, each country is competitively responding to the expansion. For Korea in particular, the space economy is a necessary, not optional, field to become a developed country. The establishment of the agency does not represent the mere addition of a government-run entity, but a drive to find the country’s future growth engine from space.

In what direction do you plan to lead KASA? Our goal is to turn Korea into one of the big five space powers. To achieve that goal, KASA will try to re-establish the relationship between the government and the private sector. In the past, the government led space development. But now, the government needs to transfer its space technology to private companies to help them take the lead in space development. In the meantime, government-funded research agencies and universities must focus on high-risk, long-term space development. Just like the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) helped SpaceX develop the Falcon 9, a reusable two-stage rocket, we will offer private companies chances to grow into space companies by encouraging them to join national space programs.

There are rumors that you will announce an ambitious space program pretty soon. We are nearly wrapping up discussions of the visions and missions of KASA after setting up a planning committee of experts representing both industry and academia. Exploring Lagrangian Points or developing reusable rockets or creating the first Korean astronaut could be considered. I will explain it in further detail soon. [Lagrangian Points are positions in space where the gravitational forces of the sun and Earth strike a balance. Thanks to that balance, satellites and other objects can stay in place more stably and save fuel. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope — the largest telescope ever launched into space — is still active at L2, a point 1.5 million kilometers (932,057 miles) away from the Earth.]

Can Korea create an internationally competitive space industry? As seen in the successful launches of Korea’s first lunar orbiter, Danuri, in 2022 and its first homegrown launch vehicle, Nuri 3, in 2023, Korea has built an ability to develop space on its own. But compared to space powers, the country still has a long way to go in terms of technology and industry size. Korea prides itself on being the seventh-largest space power, but it has a big technology gap with India, which ranks sixth after the United States, Europe, Russia, Canada and China. But there is hope. Space development requires three elements: launch vehicles, satellites and launch sites. Korea has all three. If our strength in cutting-edge industries like chips, cars, second batteries, AI and bio can create synergy with our aerospace industry, we can surely enhance the international competitiveness of our space industry.

Though some startups are visible in the field, large companies are apparently not interested in it. Startups alone can’t cover the industry. Personally, I hope big companies join the field. In 10 years’ time, space technology will be remarkably advanced. Big enterprises should be interested in the area. If they don’t invest in it even though their foreign competitors already did it, they cannot catch up with them. They also need to develop space to further develop their existing industrial technology. At the moment, only Hanwha Group, the seventh-largest conglomerate in Korea, has entered the field of space launch vehicles and satellites.

Even if Korea has acquired competitiveness in space launch vehicles and satellites, it can’t launch other countries’ satellites due to the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which control the manufacture, sale and distribution of defense and space-related articles and services. What do you think about the restriction? That’s one of the big challenges we must address. The United States puts the brakes on Korea to prevent it from using launch vehicles for military purposes. But the issue will be resolved soon as seen in the successful lifting of the restrictions on the shooting range of our ballistic missiles during the past administration. The current administration also has been making efforts to solve the problem.

What is a role model for KASA? Is it Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)? JAXA has more than 1,500 staffers, which is equivalent to the combined personnel of the KASA, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, and Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, including 293 at KASA. JAXA has secured international capabilities and positions in space science and asteroid exploration, for example, through its selection and concentration strategy. We need to benchmark such merits. But keep in mind that JAXA’s annual budget is seven times bigger than ours.

Why are Korea’s space programs irrelevant to international ones like NASA’s Artemis campaign aimed at exploring the Moon for scientific discovery and technology advancement? Korea, as a member of the Artemis Accords, must contribute to the international society rather than through its own exploration. KASA must find its appropriate role in the space mission through consultations with NASA.

Can Korea really grow into a member of the G5 of space development, as President Yoon and the head of KASA have said? The answer can be found in the successes of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), which set the foundation for the development of Korea’s science and technology in 1966 and NASA’s launch eight years prior.

While the KIST’s exemplary success was possible thanks to President Park Chung Hee’s wholehearted support and researchers’ devotion, NASA, which took off in 1958 under former Republican President Dwight Eisenhower, also received bipartisan support for its audacious Apollo program, aimed at landing humans on the moon and initiated by former Democratic President John F. Kennedy. Korea can open the way to space only when KASA follows the paths of KIST and NASA without being swayed by political winds.