Yoon Young-bin Nominee, Press Corps Meeting on the 2nd
"Preparing Private Sector Participation Projects... Technology Transfer"
"Participation in International Consortium... Active Cooperation"
Yoon Young-bin, the nominee for Administrator of the Korea Aerospace Agency, stated on the 2nd, "We will move away from the existing government-led project approach and redefine the division of roles with the private sector," adding, "Ultimately, the private sector will lead commercial space development."
Along with Yoon, the nominee for Administrator of the Korea Aerospace Agency, Deputy Director Nominee Noh Kyung-won and Mission Headquarters Director Nominee John Lee held a casual meeting with reporters at the Digital Platform Government Committee's main conference room in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The Korea Aerospace Agency is scheduled to open on the 27th in Sacheon, Gyeongnam Province.
Yoon emphasized, "The most important role of the agency is to empower the private sector and companies to take charge of space development."
He diagnosed, "Space development worldwide is rapidly evolving into a private sector-led model. So far, South Korea has been government-led, which has caused us to lag behind global trends."
He added, "The agency will establish projects that encourage private sector participation and, when necessary, the government will participate. In the future, we will transfer space technology to the private sector to mature it and accelerate the timing for independent advancement."
He further explained that government-funded research institutes and universities will be supported to focus on high-risk, long-term future space development projects.
To elevate South Korea to one of the top five space powers, narrowing the gap with existing space powers must come first. Yoon said, "We need to consider how to reduce the gap with space superpowers and what projects to pursue during that process."
He also explained, "Space development requires enormous costs and time. Even the United States finds it challenging, so it does not proceed alone but forms consortia like 'Artemis' with the help of multiple countries." He added, "It is appropriate for South Korea to participate in international consortia and active collaboration is necessary."
Yoon earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Seoul National University and received his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan, USA. He joined Seoul National University in 1996 and has been serving as a professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering.
In 2001, he was selected for the National Designated Research Laboratory project and began research on injectors for liquid rocket engines. In 2013, as the head of the Next-Generation Space Propulsion Research Center, he conducted research on low-cost, high-efficiency liquid rocket engines.
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