Special Law Passed Finally... Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam, "Space Agency Will Open South Korea's Space Economy"

The special bill on the establishment and operation of the Space Aviation Agency, which will become Korea's version of NASA, finally passed the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 9th.

It has been 9 months since Gyeongnam Province submitted the bill to the National Assembly in April last year.

Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, held a press conference and said, "On behalf of 3.3 million residents, I sincerely welcome the passage of the bill through the National Assembly as a grand bipartisan agreement for the common goal of advancing Korea as a space aviation powerhouse."

He emphasized, "The Space Aviation Agency will open a new horizon in the history of Gyeongnam."

"With the passage of the special law for the Space Aviation Agency, the agency is expected to open in May according to related regulations," he said, "Once the agency opens, it will especially be a great driving force for the development of western Gyeongnam, and will bring various benefits such as industrial and tourism development and revitalization of businesses within the province."

"It may seem like just another government ministry coming in, but in the long term, it means establishing a command headquarters (control tower) to execute the space aviation vision," he added.

Gyeongnam Governor Park Wan-su is discussing future plans such as the opening of the Space Aviation Agency immediately after the special law for the Space Aviation Agency passed the National Assembly.
[Photo by Lee Se-ryeong]

Governor Park stated, "From now on, we must accelerate the prompt establishment of the Space Aviation Agency."

"The global market size of the space aviation industry is expected to explode to about 1,320 trillion won, five times the current size, over the next 10 years," he explained, "More than 70 countries worldwide have already established dedicated space aviation organizations and are preparing future growth engines linked with industry."

He continued, "We will fulfill Gyeongnam's role and responsibility so that 2024 can be recorded in history as the inaugural year of Korea's space economy era."

He further elaborated on plans to ▲ cooperate with NASA and the French National Centre for Space Studies ▲ develop and promote policies to attract space aviation companies and skilled personnel ▲ accelerate the construction of a space aviation complex city ▲ push for the enactment of a special law supporting the construction of the space aviation complex city ▲ establish a government task force for the construction of the space aviation city.

Governor Park said, "The enactment of the special law for the Space Aviation Agency is the result of the united hearts and passion of 3.3 million residents," and added, "Gyeongnam Province will take the lead in opening Korea's space economy era."

The special law for the Space Aviation Agency had been stalled for months due to partisan conflicts and disputes with related institutions but was passed at the final plenary session of the January extraordinary National Assembly.

On that day, out of 298 members of the National Assembly, 266 attended the plenary session, and the vote resulted in 263 in favor, 0 against, and 3 abstentions, finalizing the approval.

The special law mainly includes the establishment of the Space Aviation Agency under the Ministry of Science and ICT, headed by an agency chief at the vice-ministerial level.

The Space Aviation Agency will be built in Sacheon, Gyeongnam, and will be responsible for establishing cross-ministerial policies related to space aviation, fostering the industry, training personnel, and promoting international exchange and cooperation.

Originally, the enforcement period of the law was six months after promulgation, but it was shortened to four months through an amendment to the supplementary provisions, so the Space Aviation Agency is expected to launch around May this year.

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