By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
South Korea aims to become one of the world's top seven space technology developers within a decade, President Lee Myung-bak said Thursday.
Lee unveiled the plan during a ceremony to mark the opening of the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, the country's first space center.
``This space center is our hope and dream and represents our future and challenges,'' Lee said in a congratulatory speech. ``We will provide full support to the space science sector to help the country achieve the goal of becoming the world's seventh largest space developer.''
The center opened after nine years of construction. Built on over 5.07 square kilometers of land, it will be the launch site for the country's first-ever space vehicle, the KSLV-1, late next month.
The launch will make South Korea the world's 13th member of the so-called ``space club,'' comprising countries that operate space centers and can send satellites into orbit. The country has several satellites, but all of them have been put into space by other countries, mainly Russia.
``Space technology represents a country's economic power and national competitiveness,'' President Lee said. ``It will also be one of the major growth engines in the future.''
Lee invited 10 young scientists to a luncheon to encourage them. Participants in the ceremony included Education, Science and Technology Minister Ahn Byong-man; Park Chan-mo, senior presidential secretary for science technology; and Lee Joo-jin, president of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute.