Space Aviation Agency May Launch in the First Half of the Year

Ruling and Opposition Parties Nearing Special Act Passage

The establishment of the Space and Aeronautics Administration, a key science and technology task of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, is expected to take place as early as the first half of the year. As the passage of the Special Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Space and Aeronautics Administration (Space and Aeronautics Administration Special Act), which had been stalled in the National Assembly, is imminent, the Ministry of Science and ICT and related industries plan to use the establishment of the Space and Aeronautics Administration as an opportunity to leap forward as a space power.

According to Park Sung-joong, the People Power Party whip of the Science, Technology, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, the committee plans to handle the Space and Aeronautics Administration Special Act bill, which is pending in the bill review subcommittee, at the full committee meeting on the 8th. If the Special Act passes the full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the same day and the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 9th, the legal foundation for the establishment of the Space and Aeronautics Administration, which had been stagnant since the government proposed it in April last year, will be established. Although the ruling and opposition parties had not finalized the establishment of the Space and Aeronautics Administration by the end of last year, they quickly completed the legislative work at the beginning of the new year. This reflects the fact that, with the growing necessity for the establishment of the Space and Aeronautics Administration, it was burdensome to continue politicizing the issue.

The core of the Space and Aeronautics Administration Special Act is the creation of the Space and Aeronautics Administration under the Ministry of Science and ICT, led by a vice minister-level commissioner. The Space and Aeronautics Administration will take over space and aeronautics-related tasks that are currently dispersed among the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the National Research Foundation of Korea, and others, serving as a government-wide "control tower." It is also expected to conduct space-related diplomacy, which had been sporadically carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Meanwhile, during the National Assembly discussions, it was decided that the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, which had been controversial, will be affiliated institutions under the Space and Aeronautics Administration. It is understood that the ruling and opposition parties agreed to maintain the institutes' independent research and development roles.

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