SEOUL, April 24 (AJU PRESS) - President Yoon Suk Yeol appointed an aerospace professor at Seoul National University as the inaugural chief to oversee Korea's forthcoming space agency, the presidential office said Wednesday.
Yoon Young-bin will spearhead the Korean equivalent of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), called the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA), slated for launch in late May.
Obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in the U.S., Yoon is an expert specializing in aerospace engineering.
Yoon "is one of Korea's leading researchers..... who has participated in and contributed to the development of Korea's home-grown space rocket Naro and many other space projects," presidential policy adviser Sung Tae-yoon said.
The president also named former NASA executive John Lee as deputy administrator, and Rho Kyung-won, a senior official at the Ministry of Science and ICT, as deputy chief.
Located in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, KASA will serve as a hub for Korea's space exploration and relevant technologies.
As one of his key campaign pledges, the president has envisioned his plans to establish an agency solely dedicated to the research of outer space, which he believes will make Korea leap forward as one of the global space powerhouses. He has also pledged bold investment to spur the space-related industry.
