A space agency is essential for national interests

Hwang Ho-won

The author is a professor of Korea Aerospace University and vice chairman of the Korea Society of Air & Space Law and Policy.

Korea has joined the New Space Age with the maiden orbital launch of the second-generation launch system Korea Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV-II) dubbed Nuri. A space race has been renewed across the world, including the United States and Korea, amid commercial participation and innovation applications to stimulate industrial infrastructure under a new paradigm and rapid changes.

The government has been agile to ride on the bandwagon. It has been promising to see the government moving onto stipulating a law to support aerospace innovations through public and private exchanges, industrial development, and protection of public lives from any space risks and create an agency devoted to space related policy, research and development, and industrial promotion.

Korea in 1996 initiated a mid to long-term roadmap on space development and is into the third five-year outline. It has been devising a mid to long-term space development support system and made big strides through self-developed and launch of low-orbit satellites. Although the scope of space industry and security has widened sharply, Korea still lags behind advanced countries in related technology, industry, and investments.

The government has proposed a special law to create a space agency to leapfrog in the space program. The bill proposes to create a space agency overseeing space related policy, technology development, and international cooperation to promote space industry. The National Space Committee would be elevated to be chaired by the president instead of the prime minister to strengthen its role and function.

Space technology development, industrial, support, talent breeding, and readiness against space dangers overseen by different government offices like the Ministry of Science and ICT, and Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Energy would go under the new independent agency for uniform and effective space policy governance.

But the government outline faces a setback after a lawmaker from the opposition Democratic Party (DP) proposed a replacement bill. An idea to create a new government agency must be deliberated at the National Assembly, but opposition for opposing sake could splash cold water on the space initiative.

The replacement bill is unfeasible for many reasons. It proposes to create a “Space Strategy Headquarters” instead of an agency spun off from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The headquarters should go under the president for effective cross-government coordination and supervision. But in my opinion, the idea cannot be realistic.

An establishment dubbed strategy headquarters cannot be appropriate under government organization. It would not have independence over appointment, organization, and budget and cannot execute policies normally as an administrative office.

Elevating the chair of the National Space Committee to the president is already in the government bill. The essence is on the role of the new body’s service for the future of space industry and how it can be best function its role. The debate in defining the rank of the body is unnecessary.

What is imperative is to unite the dispersed government functions in backing research projects and businesses, not to strengthen coordination in government policies.

The National Space Committee is already in charge of coordination. The DP lawmaker argues the government proposal of creating an agency outsourced by the science ministry does not fully represent the desires for a strong government body on space policy. But the agency’s rank is unaffected by the fact that it is a spin-off body from the ministry. A special law defining independence, sovereignty of the new agency with the authority over appointment is the right direction.

The majority opposition party has been overusing its overwhelming presence in the legislative. The creation of a space agency is essential for national interests in intense space race. The National Assembly must back the program to create a new government office through reasonable discussions.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.