Yoon's State Visit Signing Ceremony
Kim Jeonggyun, the Only Representative from Traditional Pharmaceutical Companies Included in the Delegation
Boryung (formerly Boryung Pharmaceutical)'s entry into the space business is expected to accelerate following President Yoon Suk-yeol's state visit to the United States.
On the 25th (local time), at the JV establishment contract ceremony between Boryung and Axiom Space held in Washington DC, USA, Koo Ja-yeol, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, Kim Jung-gyun, CEO of Boryung, Kam Gafarian, Chairman of Axiom, and Michael Surfredini, CEO of Axiom (from left), are posing for a commemorative photo. Photo by Boryung
On the 25th (local time), Boryung announced on the 26th that it signed a joint venture (JV) establishment agreement with the U.S. company Axiom Space in Washington, D.C., to jointly pursue space business in low Earth orbit (LEO). The signing ceremony was attended by Boryung CEO Kim Jeong-gyun, Axiom Chairman Kam Ghaffarian, CEO Michael Suffredini, and Korea International Trade Association Chairman Koo Ja-yeol, among others.
Following a strategic investment of $60 million (approximately 80 billion KRW) in Axiom last year, Boryung has been conducting detailed discussions on the JV since March to efficiently advance the related business. With this agreement, the establishment procedures for the new corporation are expected to be completed within the first half of this year.
The JV, jointly funded by Boryung and Axiom at a 51 to 49 ratio respectively, will be established in Korea. Based on the 'Axiom Station,' which will replace the existing International Space Station (ISS), all business areas utilizing Axiom's technology and infrastructure will be jointly pursued domestically. Additionally, the JV will be granted exclusive rights to operate Axiom's private and public space businesses within Korea and will actively seek business cooperation opportunities in the Asia-Pacific and global regions.
Low Earth orbit is regarded as a new testbed with the most intense development competition among nations and private companies, serving as a forward base for space exploration. The soon-to-be-established Boryung-Axiom JV will engage in astronaut business, joint manufacturing, construction, and infrastructure projects including next-generation Korean modules, as well as all research and development and experimental activities on the space station. A Boryung official stated, "We now have a channel to utilize low Earth orbit infrastructure, which was previously nonexistent domestically," adding, "This will provide an opportunity to meet the numerous R&D demands of government and private companies arising in microgravity environments."
Notably, this agreement was made during President Yoon's state visit to the U.S., with CEO Kim Jeong-gyun participating as part of the economic delegation. Among the delegation, which was mostly composed of bio-venture companies excluding traditional pharmaceutical firms, CEO Kim was highly recognized for his role in the space industry and was the only traditional pharmaceutical company representative included.
Recently, CEO Kim was appointed as a director of Axiom Space, joining its board. Axiom appointed three new directors including Kim, Genie Teisinger, former Chief Information Officer of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and John William "Jay" Raymond, the first U.S. Space Operations Commander. The board now consists of six members, including existing Chairman Kam, CEO Suffredini, and Rob Meyerson, the inaugural CEO of Blue Origin.
CEO Kim said, “The establishment of this JV will serve as a foundation for both companies to share and jointly design a future vision for space development beyond a strategic investment relationship,” adding, “We will create an opportunity to contribute to the development of the space industry led by private companies in line with the strengthening of new space cooperation between Korea and the U.S.”
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