Yoon's plan for Korean version of NASA seen as half-baked

This image combines a photo of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol waving during his election campaign in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, March 3, with a photo of Korea's first domestically developed space launch vehicle, the Nuri, lifting off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, last October. Korea Times files

Presidential transition team urged to clarify stance on space policies

By Park Jae-hyuk

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and his incoming administration should be more specific in their pledges to establish a control tower directing the nation's space policies, while conducting a fundamental review of its necessity and roles, according to aerospace experts.

This advice has come amid intensifying conflict among local governments over the location of the Korean version of the U.S.' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Korean Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences Chairman Kim Chong-am said that a space agency should be established within this year for the strategic and systematic development of Korea's aerospace sector and for greater international cooperation.

Kim, who is also a professor at Seoul National University's Department of Aerospace Engineering, warned the new administration against being too hasty with its plans.

"Compared to cases in other countries, the plan should be pursued in a way to maximize the capacity of Korea's aerospace ecosystem," he said. "Experts from businesses, academia, research facilities, the military and the government should have discussions for a certain period of time through symposiums and forums, and then should build a consensus about the agency's size and roles."

Lee Chang-jin, a professor at Konkuk University's Department of Aerospace Engineering, advised the incoming administration to prioritize discussing the roles of the agency, before selecting its location.

"The presidential transition committee should clarify its stance on the necessity and roles of the agency, after reviewing how its operations will contribute to the national interest," he said. "Then it will be able to see how it should correct the flaws in its policies."

Based on the belief that a NASA-style organization will prevent budget waste, Lee essentially agreed to the necessity of a single organization serving as a "control tower" overseeing space policies.

However, he expressed skepticism about authorizing the agency to supervise the aviation sector.

"It might become negligent in performing its role of establishing policies for space exploration," he said. "Aeronautics and space engineering have much in common from a scientific viewpoint, but aviation and space policies should be separated."

Both Kim and Lee agreed that the agency should function independently from ministerial supervision, so that it can determine the course of the nation's space policies from a broader viewpoint taking into account diplomacy, economy, science, technology, national security and industry.

Chang Young-keun, a professor of space engineering at Korea Aerospace University, also said in a symposium on March 25 that the new administration should establish a space agency under direct supervision of the president, rather than assigning space exploration to the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Unionized workers of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) called on the new administration on March 21 to set up a "Ministry of Space" under the direct supervision of the prime minister.

"The science and defense ministries have failed to collaborate with each other in space policies, and the Army, Navy and Air Force have been vying for the initiative in space defense," the union said. "Instead of a space agency of a certain region and a certain ministry, the Ministry of Space should be established under the direct supervision of the prime minister to handle pan-governmental strategies."

Korea Aerospace Industries' banner hangs on a building in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, March 30, to request the establishment of the Korea Space Agency in the city. Courtesy of Sacheon City Government

Conflict over space agency's location

Since Yoon promised in his manifesto that he would push ahead with the establishment of a space agency for Korea to become one of the world's seven powerhouses in space exploration by 2035, there has been a greater likelihood of the introduction of a Korean version of NASA, which has been discussed among scholars and politicians here for more than a decade.

"By establishing the Korea Space Agency in Sacheon, where Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is located, I will enable this city to become the cradle of Korea's aerospace industry," Yoon said on March 3, during an election campaign stop in the South Gyeongsang Province city. "What is most important for national security is the aerospace sector. It is also very important for the economy."

Chances for the establishment of the agency have increased further after ATEAM Ventures CEO Ko San, who was trained as the country's first astronaut before being dropped from boarding a Russian space shuttle in 2008, joined the presidential transition committee on March 15.

This issue, however, without in-depth discussions on the new administration's space policies, has been generating conflict among local governments, as the task was assigned to the transition committee's taskforce for balanced regional development.

South Gyeongsang Province has emphasized that Yoon should fulfill his promise to establish the agency in Sacheon, urging his transition team on March 28 to add its establishment in the city as one of the major tasks of the new administration.

The CEOs of 73 aerospace companies headquartered in the province also sent letters on March 25 to 14 institutions, including the transition committee, Cheong Wa Dae, the National Assembly and political parties to demand that the agency be set up there.

"The agency should be established in the western region of South Gyeongsang Province, the heart of Korea's aerospace industry, where 70 percent of Korean companies involved in the aerospace industry are clustered," they said in the letter.

In contrast, Ahn Cheol-soo, the chairman of the transition committee, had mentioned Daejeon as the optimal place for the agency due to the presence of KARI and multiple other research facilities, before he dropped out of the presidential race to support Yoon's candidacy.

"I will form an innovation cluster for space defense, by integrating the capabilities of the Agency for Defense Development, KARI, KAIST and Hanwha's R&D facilities in Daejeon," Ahn had said in January during an election campaign stop in the metropolitan city. "Of course I think the Korea Space Agency should be located in Daejeon."

His previous remarks have supported Daejeon Mayor Her Tae-jeong's claim that the agency should be located in that city.

"Its proposed establishment in South Gyeongsang Province will have a significantly negative impact on balanced regional development," the mayor said on March 28, during a meeting with municipal government officials.

South Jeolla Province has also been clamoring to accommodate the agency, citing the necessity of an industrial cluster near Naro Space Center in Goheung to save time and costs.