Yoon vows to invest 1.5 trillion won in space development

President Yoon Suk Yeol announced on Wednesday plans to increase the national budget for space development by more than 1.5 trillion won by 2027 and attract 100 trillion won in investment by 2045. He also confirmed plans to establish the triangular cluster connecting South Gyeongsang-South Jeolla-Daejeon, designated by the National Space Commission in 2022, as a base to foster private-sector-led space development plans.

President Yoon attended the “Korea Space Industry Cluster Launching Ceremony” held at Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province. “The government will support growth by promoting 1,000 space companies, targeting to promote at least ten of them as world-leading companies. We aim to expand our global market share, which is currently only 1%, to more than 10% by 2045, and create more than 250,000 quality jobs,” he said. “We will provide full-fledged support to help startups joining the cluster grow into global companies.”

“We will take big steps toward the future, landing a lunar explorer on the moon in 2032 and placing the Korean on Mars in 2045. The space industry cluster will lead the way to the future. We shall move boldly forward toward far-reaching areas of space. Korea’s third miracle will be in space development, building on our legacy of the Han River and semiconductors miracle. He also mentioned his memory of watching the televised broadcast of Apollo 11 landing on the moon for the first time in 1969. “Since then, space has been a dream and a challenge for me,” he said.


이상헌 기자 dapaper@donga.com