South Korea Pushes ‘Korean Starlink’ Plan, Lee Says Nation’s Future Hinges on South Coast

South Korea plans to build its own low-Earth-orbit satellite communications network with hundreds of satellites by 2035. The government also aims to launch a privately developed small lunar lander aboard the Nuri rocket in 2030, moving ahead of its earlier 2032 moon-landing plan.

The southern coast, spanning South Gyeongsang and South Jeolla provinces, will be developed as an "aerospace belt" built around clustered public-private infrastructure.

Oh Tae-seok, administrator of the Korea AeroSpace Administration, announced the strategy on July 3 in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province. It was unveiled after a public briefing on advanced-industry development in the Yeongnam region and a review by the fifth National Space Commission.

The government said it will complete a Korean low-Earth-orbit satellite communications system by 2035 to bolster national security, secure communications sovereignty and prepare for the 6G era.

The Ministry of Science and ICT will lead efforts to marshal private-sector capabilities and draw up detailed plans for building and operating the satellite network. Seoul wants to expand the system beyond communications services into data infrastructure for security, disaster response and industrial use.

The government also spelled out a lunar exploration timeline.

It plans to launch a lunar-orbit communications satellite in 2029 and an Earth-moon science probe in 2031. Before using a next-generation launch vehicle for a lunar landing that had been scheduled for 2032, it will first launch a privately developed small lunar lander on the Nuri rocket in 2030.

In launch vehicles, the government plans to improve reliability through repeated Nuri launches and create an ecosystem in which domestically developed satellites are, in principle, launched on South Korean rockets.

In aviation, Seoul aims to develop a hybrid vertical takeoff and landing aircraft by 2030. It also plans to pursue participation in the joint development of next-generation commercial aircraft as it seeks to become a developer of future aviation platforms.

On the infrastructure front, the government will foster the southern coastal region as an "aerospace industry belt," linking Sacheon, where the Korea AeroSpace Administration is based, with Changwon, Jinju, Suncheon and Goheung, where aerospace companies and infrastructure are concentrated.

Near the space agency in Sacheon, the government plans to build joint public-private research institutes and key infrastructure to accelerate efforts to attract companies.

President Lee Jae-myung said at the meeting that global competition for technological supremacy is expanding beyond Earth into space. The aerospace industry is undergoing a major shift from a state-led field of research to a vast industry driven by capital and markets, he said.

Lee pledged to firmly nurture the aerospace industry, calling it a cornerstone of national security and a new growth engine for the country. He also promised a support package linking tax, fiscal, financial and regulatory measures.

The briefing was part of a regional follow-up to the government's "three mega-projects," its new growth strategy. Major conglomerates including Hanwha, Samsung and SK also announced plans to invest 312 trillion won ($225.8 billion) in advanced industries in the Yeongnam region.

Park Sang-kyung, Hankyung.com reporter highseoul@hankyung.com