South Korea announced it would accelerate its space development program by boosting cooperation with the United States, in a move that may help the Biden administration's Asia strategy to counter China's growing influence around the world.
South Korea's Space Development Program
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a speech on June 6 that they will expand their space cooperation with the international community, including the United States. He added that Seoul would speed up its space launch development program, according to Bloomberg.
President Moon Jae-in's speech came two weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden met Moon at the White House as part of Washington's plan to build a united front with allies against security threats posed by the likes of North Korea and China.
South Korea and the U.S. agreed to terminate bilateral missile guidelines that have long restricted Seoul's missile development to under the range of 800km.
The end of the guideline puts major Chinese cities under South Korea's missile range, and it increases Seoul's ability to strike North Korea, according to The Straits Times.
President Moon said that the termination of the missile guideline means that they have secured their missile sovereignty and marks the start of their journey to space.
Based on the South Korea-US alliance, they will respond more proactively to the changing security environment.
After the US-South Korea summit in Washington, South Korea joined NASA's moon-exploration coalition, becoming the 10th signatory nation to the Artemis Accord, which was a pact that governs behavior norms of those taking part in the lunar exploration program.
According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea plans to spend 615 billion won or $732 million in 2021 on space development aimed at boosting its capacity to produce rockets, satellites, and other key equipment.
In his speech, President Moon also suggested that South Korea could play a massive role in the international state.
Moon said that South Korea's alliance with the U.S. is to protect democratic values and human rights, adding that Seoul wants to develop it into a more comprehensive alliance.
South Korea's Space Mission
The chief of South Korea's space agency has promised to spin off near-term applications to the private sector and refocus the agency on long-term investments that won't pay off until 2050, according to Space News.
The spin-off applications were part of a broad reform plan unveiled by Lee Sang-Ryool, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute president or KARI president, during his May 6 online news conference, the first event of this kind since he took office March 23 for a three-year term.
The chief added that nothing had been decided yet as to what the agency will choose to explore as a long-term project and what to yield to the private sector.
No matter what happens, it seems that Lee's leadership will fuel South Korea's ongoing journey toward the domestic satellite industry being driven by the private sector.
The journey got off to a good start with the CAS500-1 remote sensing satellite launch in March. KARI jointly developed the 500-kilogram satellite with a group of selected industry partners starting in 2015, sharing its core technologies and information with the latter from the start, the first case of its kind.
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Written by Sophie Webster
