Can South Korea’s star shine on international stage as it seeks to join space race?

South Korea is reaching for the stars as it banks on aerospace technology to power its future growth, but observers said the government has its work cut out to develop a sector and talent pool that can compete internationally by 2045.

South Korea held a 17.7 per cent share in the global semiconductor market in 2022, the country is hoping to account for 10 per cent share of the international space arena in two decades.

“Gone are the days when space technology was mainly developed for security purposes,” Yoon said at the launch of a planned space cluster in the southeastern city of Sacheon, where up to 1,000 firms will eventually be located.

“We need to push harder towards space, where there are limitless opportunities and a huge market,” he added.

The cluster consists of three hubs: one in Sacheon focusing on satellites, one in the southern town of Goheung to develop launch vehicles, and one in the southern city of Daejeon centred on research.

The government plans to double its annual budget for space development to 1.5 trillion won (US$1.12 billion) by 2027, to go towards infrastructure, rocket launch sites for private companies and space environment testing facilities.

The new budget is expected to lay the groundwork for attracting private investment worth 100 trillion won (US$75.1 billion) by 2045, to create 250,000 high-quality jobs, according to Yoon.

Meanwhile, the government will also launch a state space agency, Korea Space Administration (KASA), in a bid to land a domestic spacecraft on the moon in 2032 and reach Mars in 2045.

The KASA, to be built in May in Sacheon, will be tasked with space development plans and industry-wide cooperation domestically and abroad.

It will hire 300 people – 200 researchers and 100