Young Entrepreneurs in Their 20s See Hope at the Space Aviation Cheong

Shin Dong-yoon, CEO of Perigee, Attends Space Agency Opening Ceremony
Anticipates Private-Led 'New Space'
Commits to Successful Launch of Korea's First Private Rocket in First Half of the Year

"I hope the Korea Aerospace Agency creates a track where uniquely challenging and innovative mission goals for Korea can be discovered and new missions can be freely proposed, and that opportunities to realize these will be provided to private space companies."

Dongyun Shin, CEO of the space launch vehicle startup Perigee, could not hide his excitement during a phone interview with reporters after attending the opening ceremony of the Korea Aerospace Agency held on the 30th in Sacheon, Gyeongnam.

Many representatives of private companies were also invited to the opening ceremony that day. Among them, CEO Shin stood out distinctly. Although Perigee is in its sixth year since founding, Shin is still a student in his twenties. After founding Perigee, he entered the Department of Aerospace Engineering at KAIST and is currently pursuing graduate studies. The fact that Perigee, led by a young entrepreneur, plans the first domestic private company launch vehicle test launch next month, right after the Korea Aerospace Agency's opening, shows that the connection with the agency is not simple.

Despite the short time, CEO Shin felt that the Korea Aerospace Agency is progressing with many initiatives, emphasizing "the importance of missions as a notable change," expressing high expectations. He said, "In the past, the term 'mission' was not used. It felt like the Korea Aerospace Agency is moving toward a mission-centered organization and placing great expectations on the future." The agency revealed ambitious and challenging missions beyond the Moon, including Mars and deep space, asteroid, and Lagrange point exploration.

CEO Shin expressed hope that "the Korea Aerospace Agency will discover uniquely challenging and innovative mission goals for Korea, create a track where new missions in the space sector can be freely proposed, and provide small opportunities for various private space companies to realize them."

He explained that if many opportunities are provided to private space companies through this process, higher-quality outcomes can emerge through competition. He forecasted, "I believe such successful experiences will naturally create a virtuous cycle that helps enhance the nation's space development competitiveness."

He was especially amazed by the Korea Aerospace Agency's announcements regarding improvements in private launch regulations and the promotion of a second space center. The existing Goheung Space Center is exclusively for the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and has limited launch angles, so private launch vehicle companies had to seek alternatives. If a second space center is established on land or at sea, such concerns can be alleviated.

The Korea Aerospace Agency also announced plans to ease launch regulations so that if a company attempts consecutive launches with the same launch vehicle, only one permit would be required. CEO Shin welcomed this, saying, "It is necessary to allow licensed launches for launch vehicles whose design stability has been proven to some extent, like in the United States."

CEO Shin also expressed hope that "the space sector will be viewed from an industrial perspective, and the government will create channels so that many domestic new space companies can generate profits in the market." President Yoon declared at the Korea Aerospace Agency opening ceremony that he will promote the 'Space Gwanggaeto Project' and strongly intends to open an era of 'NewSpace' led by the private sector.

CEO Shin did not forget to pledge, "I will do my best to ensure the success of the 'Blue Whale' launch vehicle launch scheduled for the first half of the year."

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