Science minister welcomes HIT forum on space economy

Science and ICT Minister Lee Jong-ho on Wednesday made congratulatory remarks for The Korea Herald’s Humanity in Tech Forum, vowing to take the lead in ushering in Korea’s new space economy.

“I give my sincere congratulations for The Korea Herald’s HIT Forum that discusses ‘space’ as its first topic for sharing vision on science and technology innovation,” said Lee in a pre-recorded video played during the forum held at the Shilla Seoul.

“It is a timely discussion following the people’s high expectations for Korea’s space industry, following the successful launch of homegrown Nuri rocket and the nation’s first lunar mission Danuri.”

Lee added the event is more meaningful because Oct. 11 happens to be the anniversary of when the first crewed flight Apollo 7 launched to space in 1968 and made live TV transmissions for the first time.

Despite the 30-year-long endeavor, a relatively short period of time to have embarked on a space development project, South Korea became the seventh country in the world to have developed and launched a satellite weighing 1 ton or more.

Lee stressed that the government is making efforts to further expand Korea's global presence in the space economy race. In May, the space agency signed a pact with the US’ NASA to bolster ties of the two countries’ cooperation in outer space. This comes after the November 2022 announcement of the future space economy road map, a blueprint for the nation’s space policy.

Under the space road map, the Science Ministry is pushing forward to set up a new space body called the Korea Aerospace Administration. Based on the partnership with the private sector, the agency is expected to become a control tower for the country’s aerospace sector.

Pledging to secure more advanced space development capability, Lee said, “We plan to develop a next generation projectile, following Nuri rocket, land on the moon and Mars by 2032 and 2045, respectively. By 2035, Korea will set up the large-scale satellite navigation system called the Korean Positioning System.”