Achieving the Dream of Nuriho Launch, but Now Taking the First Step in the 'Aerospace Industry' [Tech War, Birth of Advanced Nations]

Purely Domestic Technology Proves Potential in Space Industry
Global Competitiveness Still at Early Stage
Domestic Space Industry Accounts for Only 0.73% of Global Market

Expansion of Corporate Investment Participation... Shift to Private Sector Leadership
Technology Transfer from Government Agencies like KAIST Also Needed

[Asia Economy Reporters Donghoon Jeong, Chaeseok Moon] The Korean launch vehicle Nuriho, developed entirely with domestic technology, has successfully reached orbit, proving the potential of the Korean space industry. However, despite Nuriho's success, evaluations suggest that Korea's global competitiveness in the rapidly growing aerospace industry remains at a nascent stage.

According to the aerospace industry on the 23rd, the domestic space industry recorded a scale of 3.8931 trillion KRW in 2019. The space utilization sector accounted for 2.7763 trillion KRW, making up 71.3% of the total, while the satellite equipment manufacturing sector accounted for 1.1169 trillion KRW, or 28.7%. Korean companies are leading the domestic space industry. Corporate sales in space equipment manufacturing reached 641 billion KRW, exceeding half of the sector's share, and corporate sales in space utilization reached 2.62 trillion KRW, accounting for 94.2%. This data comes from a survey conducted by the Ministry of Science and ICT targeting domestic space-related companies, research institutes, and universities.

The space industry is a high value-added advanced country industry, with a value-added rate 1.7 times higher than the automobile industry. The proportion of research and development (R&D) personnel is 2.5 times higher, creating high-quality jobs. Moreover, the aerospace sector has an average development period of 10 years, longer than shipbuilding (5 years) and automobile (3 years) industries, which helps maintain stable employment.

However, this represents only 0.73% of the global space industry. According to the Space Foundation, a U.S. nonprofit space organization, the total global space industry, including government and private sectors, reached 447 billion USD (approximately 527 trillion KRW) last year. This is more than 140 times the size of Korea's space industry.

◆ Space Industry Transforming Under Private Sector Leadership = For a long time, the space industry was government-led, but in recent years, private sector investment and participation have greatly expanded. Commercial business models in the space industry, such as ultra-high-speed internet networks using satellites, aerospace transportation, and space tourism, are spreading. Additionally, technological innovation and cost reductions have increased the economic viability of the space industry, expanding satellite industry demand and applications from imaging and climate prediction to communications, exploration observation, transportation, and defense. The expansion of the space industry ecosystem and strengthened public-private cooperation are driving large-scale space development projects, intensifying competition among major countries.

Experts also expect synergy between the space industry and related sectors such as drones, urban air mobility (UAM), and autonomous vehicles. Professor Changjin Lee of Konkuk University's Department of Aerospace Engineering said, "Space launch vehicle technology and rocket technology are closely related to next-generation future technologies," adding, "Although there will be many challenges, turning dreams into reality is achievable."

Professor Lee predicted, "Competition among operators like SpaceX and OneWeb in the ultra-high-speed internet market will intensify, leading to explosive growth in related markets. Using rockets for delivery and travel could reduce the London-New York flight time from about 8 hours to 29 minutes, making same-day product delivery and travel a reality, completely changing the paradigm of travel and transportation."

◆ "Space and Aerospace Technology Should Be Shared at KARI, etc." = The space industry is expected to become an indispensable core infrastructure across industries in the future. The global space industry is projected to grow from 371 billion USD (approximately 423 trillion KRW) in 2020 to 1.1 trillion USD (approximately 1,286 trillion KRW) by 2040. However, Korea's space industry size was about 3.8931 trillion KRW in 2019, only around 1% of the global space industry, indicating the need for active nurturing policies.

Researcher Kwiil Jung of the Korea International Trade Association said, "The space industry has long been a stagnant field in terms of innovation, but the entry of global companies has improved productivity and created successful business models," advising, "Private companies should enhance competitiveness through technological and cost innovation, while the government should expand budget support for companies' space development participation and establish institutional foundations necessary for growth."

While domestic companies are striving to secure technological competitiveness in the space industry, they are also looking overseas. This is because the domestic space industry is limited by government-led budget investments. For private sector leadership in the space industry, technology transfer from government agencies such as the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) is necessary.

Professor Youngkeun Jang of the Department of Aerospace Mechanical Engineering at Korea Aerospace University pointed out, "Industrialization is impossible with the 'Old Space' projects developed mainly by government and institutions like KARI," emphasizing, "KARI needs to transfer aerospace technology to the private sector and create a platform for industrialization."

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