[아이뉴스24 정종오 기자] Dr. Hong-gyu Moon of the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute sent a second letter to the Presidential Transition Committee on space governance. Last week, Dr. Moon publicly sent a letter to the transition committee to refute the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s decision to establish the Aerospace Administration in Gyeongnam.
Dr. Moon pointed out, “Looking at the recent discussions, it is impossible to predict where Korea’s NASA is going.”
Dr. Moon said, “The recent outline of ‘Nasa Korea’ is different from what I know, and there are growing concerns, and not only scientists around but also aerospace engineers are concerned.” The shadow of the prediction that it will happen is thickly cast,” he explained.
Dr. Moon continued, “To establish a new government institution, it is common sense to first define and agree on the establishment philosophy, vision, and work area, and then discuss the organization composition, division of work, and establishment region. It belongs to the procedure and unfortunately, all discussions with ‘NASA of Korea’ have declined due to regional issues.”
“Recently, as the Yun Seok-yeol administration confirmed that it would establish the Aerospace Administration in Gyeongnam, the opposition of experts is spreading,” said Dr. Moon.
◆The following is a letter from Dr. Moon to the Insu Committee.
Chairman of the Board of Directors, how are you?
Thank you for working day and night to design the organization and functions of the new government and to realize the national vision.
I am a researcher working at the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute for 29 years. It is said that the new government will establish a space agency, and we are watching with interest. Moreover, he was greatly encouraged by the news of making it ‘Korea’s NASA’.
As a child, my dream was to be a NASA scientist. Now I am directly involved in a number of activities related to NASA. He is the Korean chairman of the Exploration Science Working Group, jointly operated by NASA Headquarters and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, and the International Asteroid Warning Network (COPUOS), an expert group of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). As the Korean representative of the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN), I meet with the relevant NASA department twice a year, because the chair is NASA.
Recently, he is working as a member of the DART Investigation Team of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), a NASA exploration mission. Explorer, WISE) is working on analyzing data from the Space Telescope and the Astronomy and Space Telescope. Being involved in many things like this gives me a lot of experience with NASA. The same is true for NASA’s headquarters in Washington, DC, and research centers distributed across the United States.
We will have to wait and see, but the recently outlined appearance of ‘NASA Korea’ is far from what I know, and concerns are increasing. Surrounding scientists, as well as aerospace engineers, are concerned. It casts a heavy shadow on the prediction that ‘first button wrong’ will be difficult to correct.
The President-elect recently announced that “politics and science must be thoroughly separated,” and then expressed his will to ensure the political neutrality of state-run research institutes (Science Policy Debate, hosted by the National Assembly, held on February 8, 2022, 3 10th, National Assembly Library Auditorium).
The recent decision of the takeover committee regarding ‘Nasa Korea’ overshadows the will of the elected president. To establish a new government institution, it is common sense to first define and agree on the establishment philosophy, vision, and business area, then discuss the organizational structure, division of duties, and establishment region. We understand that it is a normal process to gather and reflect the opinions of relevant experts and public opinion.
Unfortunately, ‘Nasa Korea’ has all discussions withdrawn due to regional issues. The work has been reversed before and after, and the philosophy and vision have been pushed to the back seat, and I do not know if it has only regressed due to the problem of balanced regional development. To fix this, we have to go back in time and reconsider everything from scratch.
I’d like to ask the Insuer. Who are the key people in this decision-making process, and what philosophy and vision they are designing the institution with. In addition, I would like to make a request to the acquisition committee. I beg you to temporarily suspend all discussions on ‘Nasa Korea’ and to listen to the opinions of industry-university-research experts and reflect them.
This is because ‘Korea NASA’ has evaporated ‘philosophy and vision’ and only ‘promise’ remains. ‘Procedural justification’ has been hidden from the beginning. The ‘national lineage’ has disappeared and only the ‘regional conflict’ remains. Someone has to take responsibility. It is unknown how the establishment of ‘NASA Korea’ resulted in the problem of balanced regional development. From undergraduates in the field to retired, highly-experienced researchers, this is not at all convincing.
In my personal capacity, I would like to point out several issues related to ‘Nasa Korea’ one by one. My opinion will be widely publicized to our society and the media through social networks.
/Sejong = Reporter Jeong Jong-oh([email protected])<!–
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