S.Korea President to announce roadmap for ‘future space economy’

SEOUL: South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol will announce a roadmap this week for a "future space economy," including plans to establish an aerospace agency similar to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration, his office said on Sunday.

The roadmap, to be unveiled by Yoon on Monday, will include six major policy areas that will help transform the nation into a "space economy" power, deputy presidential spokesperson Lee Jae-myoung said during a press briefing.

Establishing an aerospace agency was one of Yoon's campaign promises, and the government will push to launch the agency next year through legislation of a special bill, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The new agency would be established under the science ministry and be headquartered in the southern coastal city of Sacheon with affiliated centres across the nation.

"A space economy sounds like something in the distant future, but in the course of developing Nuri, more than 300 businesses discovered a new space economy sector and made profits," Lee said, referring to the homegrown space rocket launched in June.

"We will lay a cornerstone so that it becomes an engine for the future growth of the Republic of Korea," he said.

In June, South Korea launched its first homegrown rocket, Nuri, becoming the seventh country in the world to develop a space launch vehicle that can carry a satellite of more than 1 tonne.