KASA, Korea's NASA, will pay high salaries, have degree of autonomy

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, looks at a model space rover at the Yongsan presidential office on Feb. 21. [YONHAP]

A Korean space agency has been proposed that is highly independent, though it falls short of being fully independent, as is the case with NASA, the U.S. space agency.

The Korean agency — Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) — will not be limited by salary caps and will be able to adjust its structure more easily than other bureaucracies in the country.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Science and ICT issued a draft bill for a law that provides grounds for establishing a national space aeronautics administration this year.

It still has to be reviewed and passed by the National Assembly.

KASA will have a head office that aims to promote research and development in space aeronautics and promote the industry.

The Korean NASA will have some unconventional self-regulatory authority, such as the authority to reform its organizational structure at the division level by simply issuing its own ordinance. This will shorten the restructuring process to a week, while other government agencies take about 3 months as they require ministerial and prime ministerial ordinances.

Hurdles on recruiting employees are lowered as well.

All positions can be contracted and staffed through competition or nomination.

The chief can be a civilian, and their hiring will be exempt from restrictions normally placed on civilian recruitment.

These exceptions will expedite and add flexibility to the hiring process, introducing more expertise in the agency, said the Science Ministry in its announcement.

Senior officials of the body will be exempted from the blind trust regulation that requires senior government officials to sell all of their stock or to only invest through a blind trust. Foreigners can be hired.

The new aeronautics agency can pay employee salaries that go beyond the current salary cap for public officials. Employees are also entitled to royalties for their technical achievements.

“NASA’s payroll follows the payroll system of the U.S. government officials, but can pay salaries that are two ranks higher in pay grade,” said Choi Won-ho, who leads the preparatory team, during a press event on Tuesday. “There is no salary cap set, and the administration will have the flexibility and autonomy to pay salaries as necessary.”

Some NASA senior officials receive around 300 million won ($230,000) a year, according to Choi. President Yoon Suk Yeol’s salary is 245 million won.

“The space administration will be a model organization for structural reform in the public sector, which the Interior Ministry and Personnel Management are putting in efforts,” Choi said when a concern on fairness was raised in the press meeting. “Innovation is having talented individuals to work in the government.”

Science Minister Lee Jong-ho added that the government will establish the administration this year to kick off Korea’s space era.

“It will be a central agency that realizes the economic roadmap for space and leaps the nation to be the seventh space power in the world,” said Lee, referring to the current six space powers — the United States, Japan, European Union, China, Russia and India.

BY KO SUK-HYUN, SOHN DONG-JOO [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]