Can South Korea’s star shine on international stage as it seeks to join space race?

South Korea is set to build an aerospace hub to house some 1,000 firms to tap on the sector’s ‘limitless opportunities and a huge market’

While Seoul will double its space budget to US$1.12 billion by 2027, some observers question its ability to have the funds, talent and technology enough to be a serious global player

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South Korea’s home-grown space rocket Nuri lifts off from Naro Space Center on May 25, 2023. File photo: YNA/dpa

Published: 5:00pm, 15 Mar 2024

South Korea is reaching for the stars as it banks on aerospace technology to power its future growth, but observers said the government has its work cut out to develop a sector and talent pool that can compete internationally by 2045.

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday hailed the aerospace industry as a “future growth engine” that had the potential to become the next economic “miracle”, after chipmaking.

South Korea held a 17.7 per cent share in the global semiconductor market in 2022, the country is hoping to account for 10 per cent share of the international space arena in two decades.

“Gone are the days when space technology was mainly developed for security purposes,” Yoon said at the launch of a planned space cluster in the southeastern city of Sacheon, where up to 1,000 firms will eventually be located.

“We need to push harder towards space, where there are limitless opportunities and a huge market,” he added.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (second from left) inspects the orbit environment lab during a visit to the state-run Korea Aerospace Industries in Sacheon on March 13. Photo: EPA-EFE/Yonhap

The cluster consists of three hubs: one in Sacheon focusing on satellites, one in the southern town of Goheung to develop launch vehicles, and one in the southern city of Daejeon centred on research.