The Korea Aerospace Research Institute and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute break a one-year leadership vacancy and welcome a new president.
The Korea Aerospace Agency noted on the 17th that Lee Sang-cheol, a professor at Korea Aerospace University, was appointed president of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, and Park Jang-hyun, the head researcher at the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, was appointed president of the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute. Their terms will last for three years starting from the 20th.
Lee Sang-cheol, the new president of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, is a figure with extensive experience in both the industry and academia. He graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in aerospace engineering in 1986 and received a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the same university's graduate school. After earning a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M University in the United States, he worked at Samsung Aerospace Research Institute and KAI. He has been serving as a professor at Korea Aerospace University since 2006.
Park Jang-hyun, the new president of the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, is an expert in space object monitoring systems. He graduated from Yonsei University with a degree in astronomy in 1986 and received his master's and doctoral degrees in astronomy from the same university's graduate school. He joined the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute in 1992 and has been working there since. His main research area is orbital calculations, and he has also served as the head of the Space Hazard Monitoring Center.
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute saw the terms of their previous presidents end in early last year. Lee Sang-ryul, the former president of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, completed his term on March 22, while Park Young-deuk, the former president of the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, finished on April 8. However, the appointment of their successors was delayed due to the restructuring of the board of directors following the establishment of the Korea Aerospace Agency. Concerns arose that the delay in appointing presidents for research institutes representing Korea in the space sector would hinder the progress of New Space policies.