Invest Korea

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered economic uncertainty and social changes around the world.
Due to restrictions on international movement and significant shut-downs,
the trade volume of major countries in 2020 showed a negative growth of 35% compared to 2019.
Korea showed a growth rate of -37%, which was below the average,
but its decline was slower compared to China (-49%), Japan (-44%), or France (-43%)

• Manned/Unmanned integrated autonomous vehicle technology: From 70.0% in 2018 to 80.0% in 2020 (10%p increase)
• Manned/Unmanned autonomous vehicle integrated control system technology: From 65.0% in 2018 to 70.0% in 2020 (5%p increase)

Although the trade volume is smaller than that of other major countries, Korea focuses on investing in and
securing technology (40% of the total investment). Consequently, the technology gap is relatively low,
compared to the trade volume gap (about 3.5% of that of the US).

The test launch of Nuri, a launch vehicle developed with Korean technology, failed to settle in orbit (October 21, 2021),
but reached the target altitude. Korea has acquired related generic technology,
such as 75-ton liquid engine and pairing separation technology.

Securing self-launching capability means preparing a foothold to advance a new space era for the pace field.
A total of 300 companies participated in the actual development of Nuri.

The market is expected to be vitalized in accordance with the government policy for private-led space development,
for example, creating an ecosystem for launching service.

The Korean aerospace industry has been continuously growing since 2017.
Its production stood at approximately USD 6 billion in 2019, which is a 28% increase year-on-year.
Its exports reached approximately USD 2.8 billion, which is an 8% increase year-on-year.
It is analyzed that both production and exports increased compared to the previous year in the fields
of aircraft, engine parts, space, and unmanned vehicles.

US-based Boeing established the world’s largest Boeing Korea Engineering and Technology Research Center
(BKETC) in Seoul. The BKETC will recruit and hire experts in autonomous flight, artificial intelligence, avionics,
mobility platforms, smart cabins, and smart factories to study next-generation aerospace technologies.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced Basic Plans for
the Aviation Industry Development (2021-2030) in March 2021, which propose directions and
policy tasks for more efficient and systematic policies for aviation industry development.

The aviation industry has a number of major companies and testing and evaluation
facilities located in the Gyeongnam region. A specialized complex for the aviation industry
has been established in Sacheon, where many key aviation companies, like KAI, are located.
An avionics MRO cluster has been established in Yeongcheon.

A total of 449 institutions (companies, research institutes, and universities) participated in
the space industry as of 2019, mainly distributed in the metropolitan area and Chungcheong area (341, 75.9%).

A total of 227 space-related companies, dealing with satellite and launch vehicles,
are located in the metropolitan area. Major satellite companies—like Setrec I--and the Korea Aerospace
Research Institute, have formed a base in Chungcheong province. Hanwha Aerospace,
the Korea Aerospace Industries, and other large space equipment manufacturers are located in the Yeongnam area.