[2026 National Assembly Audit] Fostering New Space Industries, Yet Evaluating R&D Results Mainly by Patents and Prototypes

Some Korea Aerospace Administration Projects Lack Commercialization Metrics, Including Technology Transfers and Follow-on Investment
Han Junho: "Strengthen End-to-End Performance Management from R&D to Industrialization"

The government is pursuing research and development (R&D) projects to foster new industries by applying space exploration technologies. However, some projects’ key performance indicators remain focused on technology development, such as patents and prototype production, according to findings. Critics say the government should also track how much research output leads to actual technology transfers to the private sector, investment, and commercialization.

According to materials submitted by the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) to Assemblyman Han Junho of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, the “Space Technology Commercialization Promotion Support Project” uses the number of patents and prototypes produced as key performance indicators, while the “Space Small Unmanned Manufacturing Platform Demonstration Project” tracks progress against development goals and patent applications.

A KPS satellite, part of the Korean Positioning System. Photo courtesy of the Korea Aerospace Administration.

The two projects are intended to connect research achievements at universities and government-funded research institutes with technology transfers to the private sector and commercialization. However, their key performance indicators do not include industrialization results, such as actual technology transfers, subsequent investment, or business startups.

By contrast, KASA separately tracks technology utilization and commercialization results in other R&D projects. The Space Pioneer Project has set the utilization rate of developed technologies as a performance indicator, in addition to the localization rate of core technologies and their technology readiness levels. The utilization rate was 18.8% in 2025, and the target for 2026 is 50%. The agency plans to track technology utilization, commercialization, and subsequent demand for five years, through 2035, even after the project ends in 2030.

There are also cases in which research has led to actual commercialization. A code and message generator for navigation satellites developed under the Space Pioneer Project led to a contract in December 2025 to supply a flight model for installation aboard a Korean Positioning System (KPS) satellite. The Space Innovation Project used research achievements to secure a local government contract worth about KRW 4 billion to supply satellite imagery.

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Han Junho asks a question. Provided by Han Junho's office.

Because developing technologies and demonstrating them in the space environment take a long time, evaluating patents and prototype production at the early stages of space industry projects is unavoidable. However, critics say that projects aimed at creating new industries should also assess industrialization outcomes in stages, based on technology readiness, including transfers to the private sector, subsequent demand, and investment.

“Space is a field where early-stage technology development is highly challenging and private companies cannot easily lead all research and development, so it is essential to secure public research achievements centered on universities and government-funded research institutes,” Assemblyman Han said. “We also need to assess how much those achievements lead beyond patents and prototypes to actual technology transfers, subsequent demand, startups, and investment.”

He added, “KASA should strengthen end-to-end performance management, from research and development through commercialization, by referring to the technology utilization and post-project performance management systems it already operates in other projects.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.