en.Wedoany.com Reported - On July 3, the South Korean government announced a plan to build a low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication network, aiming to establish an independent LEO satellite communication system consisting of hundreds of satellites by 2035. Dubbed "South Korea's version of Starlink" by outsiders, the project will serve national communication sovereignty, 6G infrastructure, and the development of future space communication capabilities.
South Korea has positioned the LEO satellite communication network as a national strategic infrastructure. The core objectives extend beyond providing commercial internet services to include national security, communication in remote areas, disaster emergency response, maritime communication, aviation communication, and military communication support. LEO satellites, being closer to the ground, offer lower communication latency and greater networking flexibility, making them suitable for integration with terrestrial 5G, future 6G, data centers, cloud platforms, and edge communication nodes. For South Korea, independently building an LEO satellite communication network can reduce reliance on overseas constellation services and drive the development of domestic satellite platforms, spaceborne communication payloads, ground stations, user terminals, launch vehicles, and network scheduling systems.
Oh Tae-seok, head of the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), stated that the LEO satellite communication network is a core infrastructure for safeguarding national security and communication sovereignty, as well as a national strategic infrastructure supporting the 6G era. This statement indicates that South Korea has integrated LEO satellite communication into the coordinated advancement of next-generation communication systems and aerospace manufacturing capabilities.
The construction of an LEO constellation places high demands on the industrial chain. Hundreds of satellites require batch design, manufacturing, testing, launch, and in-orbit operation and maintenance, while ground support necessitates gateway stations, telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) systems, terminal equipment, spectrum resources, and communication protocols. To form a stable communication network between satellites, capabilities such as inter-satellite links, beam scheduling, network handover, orbit management, and anti-jamming are also needed. South Korea has a strong foundation in semiconductors, electronics, communication equipment, shipbuilding, automobiles, and precision manufacturing. If the LEO satellite communication network progresses smoothly, it will generate demand for local enterprises in areas such as satellite electronics, phased-array antennas, radio frequency (RF) components, communication chips, solar cells, structural parts, propulsion systems, ground terminals, and launch services.
South Korea has also simultaneously proposed advancing its lunar landing plan to 2030. This arrangement, together with the LEO satellite network, points to an upgrade in South Korea's aerospace industry capabilities, aiming not only to build commercial and strategic infrastructure for Earth communication but also to enhance capabilities in deep space exploration, launch vehicles, satellite manufacturing, and mission control. If the LEO constellation reaches scale by 2035, it will become a crucial space communication platform for South Korea's entry into the 6G era.
Currently, the plan is still in the stage of announcing national strategies and construction goals. Specific details such as the exact number of satellites, investment scale, launch batches, list of participating companies, spectrum arrangements, and commercial service timelines have not been fully disclosed. What is certain is that South Korea plans to complete the construction of its independent LEO satellite communication network by 2035 and incorporate it into the framework for enhancing national security, communication sovereignty, 6G, and aerospace industry capabilities.
