On Friday, Jan. 19, a delegation of the Ministry of Science and ICT(MSIT) and the Korea-EU Research Centre(KERC) visited Paris to discuss international space cooperation ahead of the establishment of the Korea AeroSpace Administration(KASA) in May.
Firstly, the delegation led by the First Vice Science Minister Cho Seong-kyung, visited the European Space Agency(ESA) headquarter and met with ESA Chief Josef Aschbacher. In brief, they discussed cooperation in satellite navigation systems, deep space communication networks, data sharing and Korean participation in the ESA-led space projects.
In the meeting with EXOTRAIL CEO Jean-Luc Maria, they discussed start-up related policy and ecosystem in France. EXOTRAIL is a successful case of starting a business with the support of the Government. Likewise, South Korea plans to create an environment for active technology transfer and start-ups.
The delegation also visited French Space Agency(CNES) and had a talk with CNES President Philippe Baptiste. They both agreed to establish a Korea-French Space Forum as a platform for aerospace startups and companies. In addition, they discussed a joint funding initiative between Korea and France, and cooperation between KASA and CNES.
On Saturday, Jan 20, the delegation hosted a roundtable with Korean Scientists represented by ASCF(Association des Scientifiques Coréens en France). The roundtable mainly discussed how to attract excellent talents to the new Korean space agency.
