By Cho Mu-hyun
There are concerns that Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) is facing a brain drain only a week before the third launch of a domestic rocket.
According to a report filed by KARI to National Assemblyman Lee Yong-sup Thursday, a total of 35 employees including researchers have left the institute for other jobs since the second launch of Korea Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV-1), also called Naro, in October, 2010. Ten left after the first launch in August, 2009.
Twenty-seven have moved to large corporations such as Korean Air, Samsung Group and LG Electronics. The rest went to other public institutes and schools.
Lee, also a member of the Education, Science and Technology Committee within the Assembly, attributed the brain drain to the increased employment of non-regular employees over the past five years. KARI hired 47 non-regular staff members during that time, half of them researchers, while two regular employees left.
As corporations offer better salaries, added to their unstable status as non-regulars, more talented workers will leave after the third launch, said the assemblyman, stressing that the problem must be addressed.
“If the current situation continues, there could be problems with the launch of KSLV-2, which is targeted for 2021,” he said.
KARI has denied that there is any problem with its overall plan, especially the upcoming launch.
“Only four regular employees left KARI in the past four years who were part of the Naro launch. That is one employee a year and I don’t think that is very much,” said a KARI spokesman. “We have absolutely no problem with our launch plans and the assertions against it are without sufficient proof.
“That there may be a problem with our launch of KSLV-2 in the future is just preposterous,” he added.
The third Naro launch is expected to commence between 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 26, subject to change due to possible weather problems. It will be launched at Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province.
There is mounting pressure on the research institute as the two previous attempts to put a space vehicle to orbit have failed. KSLV-1 achieved the desired speed and height but failed to properly release its payload satellite into orbit. On the second try, the rocket blew up just 137 seconds after liftoff.
The two consecutive failures led to a blame game between KARI and Russian partner Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. The argument surrounding who was responsible is ongoing.
The three launches will together cost over 505.2 billion won, according to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
The initial budget was 359.4 billion won and the increase caused some to question whether it would be wise for the government to continue funding rocket launches amid repeated failure. The space center itself took 303 billion won to build.
The research institute needs the coming launch to succeed to get clearance for bigger budgets in future projects, which will cost more as they aim to send bigger and more sophisticated rockets and satellites into space.