President Yoon Suk Yeol on March 13 gives a congratulatory speech at the launching ceremony for a space industry cluster at Korea Aerospace Industries in Sacheon, Gyeongsangnam-do Province. (Yonhap News)

By Lee Kyoung Mi

President Yoon Suk Yeol on March 13 pledged to raise the budget to develop the domestic space industry to KRW 1.5 trillion by 2027, saying, "Today, the Republic of Korea starts a great journey toward becoming one of the world's top five space powers."

He said this at the launching ceremony for a domestic cluster for the sector at Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, the proposed site for the headquarters of the Korea Aerospace Administration after its launch in late May.

The event marked the launch of the cluster's triangular system and declaration of the development direction of the sector and government intent to support it.

The project seeks to build a triangular system comprising Gyeongsangnam-do as a specialized area for satellites, Jeollanam-do Province for launch vehicles, and Daejeon for development of researchers and human resources for a privately led space industry.

"The era of space technology remaining in the competition for national security is over," President Yoon said. "The space industry is a future growth engine that raises the competitiveness of existing industries and gives birth to new ones."

"We must challenge ourselves more aggressively toward the universe, which offers infinite opportunity and a huge market."

By 2027, he added, the government will fully support the sector by raising the space development budget to over KRW 1.5 trillion by 2027 and attracting KRW 100 trillion in private investment by 2045.

Before the ceremony, President Yoon visited KAI's space center and heard opinions from the space industry. He later toured the facility accompanied by Kim Ji-hong, head of KAI's Future Convergence Technology Institute.

km137426@korea.kr