The Nuri rocket launches from the Naro Space Center in UGoheung-gun, South Korea, in 2022.Credit: Korea Aerospace Research Institute via Getty
In a bid to rapidly advance its space ambitions, South Korea’s Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) is seeking support from its international partners, particularly the United States. But as the Sacheon-based agency centralizes efforts for planned lunar and Mars missions, it’s unclear whether private-sector players are ready to kick-start the manufacturing of next-generation spacecraft and launch vehicles.
At a press conference in September commemorating KASA’s first 100 days, administrator Yoon Youngbin outlined the agency’s goals: “We aim to make South Korea a top-five space power by 2045, increasing our global space market share to 10%,” he said. This could be worth around 420 trillion won (US$300 billion) according to the agency, which would rival South Korea’s semiconductor industry, currently valued at more than US$100 billion, and create more than 500,000 jobs.
KASA’s ambitions are backed by significant government funding; its planned budget for 2025 is 965 billion won, a 27% increase from 2024. South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has pledged to attract investments of 100 trillion won in the space sector by 2045.
With a reputation for innovation and high-quality manufacturing in areas such as automobiles, shipbuilding, semiconductors and battery production, South Korea is well-positioned to become a major space power. But its success hinges on KASA’s ability to translate these strengths to space applications. The country’s private-sector players, many of which are heavily dependent on government funding, will also need to become more self-sufficient if South Korea is to compete with other emerging space powers.
Leveraging skills in innovation
South Korea has made several gains in space over the past few years, including the first successful launch of its domestically built rocket, Nuri (KSLV-II), in 2022. The craft can carry a satellite that weighs one tonne or more — a milestone that only six other nations have achieved. In late 2023, the country’s lunar mission, known as Danuri, revealed information about the far side of the Moon, and the ongoing development and operation of several Earth-observation satellites in the KOMPSAT (also known as Arirang) series has provided data for land monitoring, disaster response and environmental observation.
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“Korea has significant strengths in other industrial areas that can be brought to bear in space,” says Sean Wilson, founder of the Mirai Group, a US-based space and emerging-technologies consultancy, and a former director of international space policy at the White House. “Leveraging those strengths will be an important element of crafting a whole-of-government strategy for space moving forward.”
A key player in this is Hanwha Aerospace, a private aerospace company in Changwon, South Korea, which is using its expertise in precision engineering and advanced materials to develop components for launch vehicles and exploration systems, including some for the planned 2032 Moon landing.
“Despite being a latecomer in the space industry, South Korea has achieved early success in acquiring and enhancing core capabilities across all areas of space technology,” says Sean Yim, a space programme manager at Hanwha Aerospace. “Moving forward,” he says, it’s crucial to accelerate South Korea’s “‘fast follower’ approach, while simultaneously embracing a ‘first mover’ strategy to identify and develop new opportunities.” Yim is optimistic about the government’s ambitious targets and anticipates real results in the near future.
Strength in collaboration
International collaboration and expertise will be invaluable in South Korea’s pursuit of space, particularly collaboration with the United States, South Korea’s most important research partner. KASA is collaborating with NASA on several projects, including the Artemis programme, which aims to send astronauts to the Moon. In September, the two nations signed a joint statement of intent for cooperation on aerospace activities, which could pave the way for further collaboration in areas such as lunar-surface activity and solar science, planetary and Earth sciences and the use of deep-space antennas. Additionally, they signed a separate agreement to jointly study potential missions to the L4 Lagrange point — one of five known gravitationally stable locations in space where spacecraft can remain in position using low levels of fuel.
Beyond the United States, KASA is engaging with Japan, European countries including the United Kingdom, France, Greece, Italy and the Netherlands, and emerging space nations, such as Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. These collaborations come at a time of strong competition between nations in space technology, especially in the Asia–Pacific region, where Japan, China and India lead established programmes, and others, such as Australia, are expanding their space sectors. For South Korea, it is as much a matter of national pride as it is national security. Late last year, North Korea claimed to have placed its first spy satellite in orbit, signalling that it is also increasing momentum in the sector.
Bringing in experienced personnel from space agencies such as NASA would be “a godsend” for KASA, said Yoon. KASA currently has 162 staff members and plans to reach 90% of 293 targeted positions by the end of 2024. It has hired two foreign nationals with extensive experience in aerospace policy at NASA: John Lee, KASA’s vice-administrator for mission directorates, and Hyundai Kim, director-general of the aeronautics innovation directorate.
To attract more talent from both domestic and international backgrounds, KASA has removed the salary cap for its public officials and is offering comprehensive relocation support, including housing and commuting assistance, to the agency’s southern headquarters in Sacheon, roughly a 4-hour train ride from Seoul.
Opportunities in the ‘new space’ era
Like many other countries that are new to the space race, KASA is focused on boosting private investment and establishing crucial infrastructure. Several start-ups have entered the market, including Perigee Aerospace, which develops micro-launchers for small satellites; Contec, which provides satellite ground station services; and Unmanned Exploration Laboratory, which designs lunar rovers. This private-led industrial ecosystem will need significant funding, however, potentially from both domestic and foreign sources of venture capital.
The ROK (Republic of Korea)–US Space Forum, which brought a large space-industry delegation from the United States to Seoul last November, demonstrated increasing international interest and opportunities for South Korea’s burgeoning space sector. But there are questions over how long private and government investment will be sustained.
Although South Korea’s current administration strongly backs the space programme, some researchers are concerned that future funding could be affected once Yoon leaves office in 2027. According to KASA, such risks will be mitigated through budget autonomy granted by South Korea’s legislative national assembly and a transition to a more agile programme-based budget model, but how that would work is yet to be seen.
Strong public support could prove crucial for funding to continue. A 2023 survey commissioned by the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT found that nearly 80% of South Koreans backed KASA’s establishment, but this sentiment could easily shift if economic pressures continue.
The organization’s capacity to manage disputes between companies and institutions in the space sector will be a major factor in its long-term success. This unofficial role of mediator is being tested in the ongoing conflict between the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) — the country’s long-standing space-research organization, now operating under KASA — and Hanwha Aerospace over intellectual-property rights for their next-generation launch vehicle project. KASA is facilitating discussions to explore potential solutions, although no final agreement has been reached. Further delays could impact future projects and efforts to secure next year’s budget.
Despite these obstacles, Wilson sees promise in what South Korea is doing. “Korea’s space programme is entering a new era at a unique moment, where it has the opportunity to leverage the transformation under way in the commercial space sector, as well as international partnerships, to make rapid progress,” he says.