The Key Figures Behind Nuriho Launch Face Separation from Their Families

KARI Employees Rank Among Lowest Paid in Government Science and Technology Institutes
Frequent Business Trips and Heavy Workload Without Proper Allowances
Growing Dissatisfaction Over Yoon Administration's Plan to Establish Aerospace Agency in Sacheon, Gyeongnam

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Employees of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the key players behind the successful second launch of Korea's first indigenous space launch vehicle, Nuriho, are appealing for improvements in poor treatment and working conditions. They are also protesting against the political discussions about relocating KARI, saying, "Now they are trying to separate us from our families."

According to the KARI labor union on the 28th, KARI field researchers receive significantly lower wages compared to other government-funded research institutes or public research centers, and overtime pay is not provided according to the law. According to ALIO, the public management information disclosure system, as of 2020, the starting salary for new employees at KARI ranked 21st out of 25 government-funded research institutes under the National Research Council of Science & Technology. Among major research institutes with over 1,000 employees and an annual research budget exceeding 600 billion KRW, KARI ranks at the bottom. Even overtime pay, including night and holiday work, is not properly guaranteed at the levels stipulated by the Labor Standards Act.

Despite frequent business trips and concerns about accidents during hazardous testing and operations, demands for additional disaster death insurance beyond industrial accident insurance have not been accepted. Furthermore, nine essential staff members at the Satellite Final Assembly and Test Center and the Naro Space Center Flight Safety Technology Department are non-regular workers who must renew their contracts every six months. The government has not taken measures such as increasing staff quotas or adjusting total personnel expenses.

In the case of Korea's first lunar exploration orbiter, Danuri, scheduled to launch on August 3, researchers in charge faced a reduction in research allowances between January and May 2019 after raising objections during the design change process. Although the labor union won the first trial after filing a lawsuit, KARI appealed at the government's request, and the second trial is currently underway. Performance bonuses for research and development that were due last year have also not been paid.

Shin Myung-ho, chairman of the KARI labor union, said, "For those in their early 40s with similar experience, the pay is lower by several million to over ten million KRW. Especially in the launch vehicle headquarters that developed Nuriho, where the main workforce is in their 50s, younger researchers in their 30s and 40s are increasingly avoiding the job and frequently leaving for other places due to low wages."

The political turbulence is also troubling KARI researchers. The Yoon Seok-yeol administration pledged during the last presidential election to establish the Aerospace Agency in Sacheon, Gyeongnam Province, and Jeonnam Province has requested relocating the launch vehicle headquarters to Naro Island. Chairman Shin said, "If the Aerospace Agency is established in Sacheon, KARI will inevitably have to move as well. That would mean traveling all over the country for business trips, and young researchers would be less willing to come. The headquarters should be located where planning, design, and policy functions are concentrated, not based on political decisions."

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