SEOUL (ANN/THE KOREA HERALD) – South Korea aims to launch its first lunar rover by 2032 and plant the national flag on Mars by 2045, as outlined in a space exploration blueprint unveiled by President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday.
Dubbed the “Space Gwanggaeto Project,” after King Gwanggaeto the Great of the ancient Goguryeo empire, the ambitious goals were announced at the Korea AeroSpace Administration’s (KASA) temporary headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province.
While the US, China, and Russia have successfully landed lunar exploration vehicles on the moon and Mars, human exploration of the latter has not yet been achieved.
President Yoon emphasised South Korea’s commitment to space exploration during his speech commemorating the establishment of KASA on Monday, citing King Gwanggaeto the Great’s legacy of resilience and boldness in facing challenges.
He envisions South Korea leading in space development by fostering expertise, supporting aerospace industries, and promoting innovative research and development, ushering in what he terms a “new space era.”
KASA officially launched Monday. Liquid rocket engine expert Yoon Young-bin serves as the inaugural administrator of the independent body. John Lee, a Korean-American who was formerly a senior executive of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the United States, serves as the KASA deputy administrator for mission directorates.
Along with a legislative move to support the country’s homegrown space technology, South Korea became the seventh country in 2022 to launch a lunar orbiter with Danuri, and the 11th country to have launched a domestically-manufactured rocket to place an artificial satellite into orbit.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Yoon said he would work to designate May 27, when the KASA was established, as a national commemorative day called “Aerospace Day.”
Yoon also reiterated his pledge to attract KRW100 trillion won (USD72.6 billion) private-sector funding to nurture South Korea’s space industry, and to raise the 2027 state budget for space exploration to KRW1.5 trillion, up about 80 per cent from the budget allocated for this year.
Sacheon is one of the three cities comprising a space industry cluster, along with Goheung, South Jeolla Province, and tech hub Daejeon.
