Trend Space rises in economic and security value while Korea's autonomous capability lags

Summary

KISTEP observes that the economic potential and security weight of outer space have grown sharply in recent years. Korean space policy, however, suffers from a gap between industrial policy and security strategy. This limits the country's ability to build autonomous development capacity in the global space race. Korea still depends on foreign sources for key technologies needed for launch vehicles, satellites and exploration, and localisation of core parts and materials remains limited. Private firms lack incentives to enter, so the shift to a market-led ecosystem is delayed and a virtuous cycle of industrial growth has yet to form.