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| Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Park In-ho, third from left, and other dignitaries unveil the signboard of the Republic of Korea Air Force Headquarters Space Center in Gyeryongdae, South Chungcheong Province, Sept. 30. Courtesy of the Air Force |
By Nam Hyun-woo
Korea's military is facing criticism for failing to set up a comprehensive space strategy, resulting in the Army, the Navy and the Air Force proposing space plans that are redundant, as well as creating unnecessary competition, a lawmaker said, Thursday.
According to a report submitted by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses to Rep. Ki Dong-min of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, the state-funded institute argued that the country's space defense capabilities remain at "an insufficient level," despite a series of policies having been implemented since the Ministry of National Defense issued its basic plan for developing the country's space defense capabilities in 2013.
The report continued: "Despite space policy's mounting tasks, the support of the defense ministry, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and each military organization that implements space policy is insufficient, and the missions and functions that each organization must perform are not clearly identified."
According to Rep. Ki, the defense ministry has only three staff members responsible for space policy and the JCS has none, with the ministry saying that it will "review expanding its manpower in space policy after the JCS establishes the specific concepts and military strategies for space operations." The JCS is now working on its military space strategy with a plan of completing documentation of it within this year.
However, Ki argued that the ministry's basic plan comes higher than that of the JCS' unfinished military space strategy in the chain of command. Thus, the defense ministry is "dodging its responsibility as the leading entity of the military's space strategy."
"The defense ministry's passive stance appears to neglect its role as the control tower of the country's space forces," Ki said.
Against this backdrop, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force have each been striving to increase their presence in the military's space defense capabilities.
On Sept. 30, the Air Force established its space center, which will be in charge of setting up its space strategy. It plans to set up an optical satellite surveillance system, space climate forecast system and other satellite-based surveillance systems by 2025, and then further expand its capabilities for space operations.
While the Air Force is claiming its lead in Korea's space defense capabilities, the Army is vying for leadership, announcing plans to increase its space-related staff.
During a National Assembly audit on Wednesday, the Army said that it uses "90 percent of the military's entire global positioning system (GPS) and 67 percent of its satellite communication capabilities, as it has the largest demand for space operations, among the others," and that "the development of space capabilities is a must," for the advancement of the Army's combat system.
Reportedly, the Army and the Air Force are clashing, as the former is seeking to join the latter's project of developing a GPS with homegrown technology, citing the system's importance for the Army.
In July, the Army announced that it was pursuing a space defense project dubbed "Pegasus," saying that "it would lay the ground for the Army to lead the JCS's space operations."
The Navy is also seeking to improve its presence in space operations, with a plan to introduce a new missile system that can intercept enemy extraterrestrial short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
"The necessity for setting up a space force is continually growing, but the appropriate military space strategies and concepts have yet to have been established, while the competition between each branch of the armed forces is hampering any constructive debate on space force development," the report said.
"In keeping with the increasing military importance of space, advanced nations are allocating generous budgets, but the Korean military's space capability is lagging far behind them," Ki said.
"The defense ministry should be in charge of the country's military space programs and expand their manpower. For this, the Air Force should play an incubating role and then make efforts to strengthen unity with the other branches of the armed forces."
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