"We Can't Just Let SpaceX Have Its Way"

Korean Space Development Companies Urge Government to Compete with 'Starlink'
Demand for Building High-Speed Communication Services Focused on Low Earth Orbit Satellites

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Private space industry companies have urged the government to establish an independent high-speed communication service centered on low Earth orbit satellites. They lamented that South Korea cannot just sit back and watch as the U.S. private space company SpaceX launches tens of thousands of low Earth orbit satellites to build the 'space internet (Starlink)' service and dominate the high-speed communication market.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 30th, private space industry companies emphasized the need for such policy implementation in the first Public-Private Space Policy Council held in Seoul that morning, marking the transition from government-led to private sector-led space development policies in the 'New Space' era.

South Korea has previously provided communication services through high-altitude geostationary satellites with the Cheollian Satellite No. 1. On this day, industry representatives expressed the opinion that "entry into the high-speed communication service market centered on low Earth orbit satellites is also necessary, and corporate investment and government research and development (R&D) support are required for this."

They also urged that although the New Space era has arrived, the government's role remains very important in South Korea, and public demand should be expanded to enable companies to participate stably in space development.

The government announced a plan on March 25 to shift the space development system to be led by companies and to enhance corporate technological capabilities to foster the space industry as a growth engine through a space strategy briefing. This council was newly established as a direct communication channel between the government and companies as a follow-up to the briefing and held its first meeting on this day.

The meeting was hosted by the Korea Aerospace Technology Promotion Association and attended by KT Sat CEO Song Kyung-min, KAI Executive Director Han Chang-heon, LIG Next1 Division Head Kwon Byung-heon, Hanwha Aerospace Executive Director Hong Jae-gi, Satrec Initiative CEO Kim I-eul, CJ OliveNetworks CEO Cha In-hyuk, and Kakao Director Ryu Tae-wook, among others.

Lee Chang-yoon, Director of the Large-scale Public Research Policy Division at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, "We will transfer space technology accumulated over the past 30 years in industry, academia, and research institutes to companies and create an environment where companies can focus on space development through related legal revisions," adding, "We will actively reflect the results of the Public-Private Space Policy Council in space policy going forward."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.