[Editorial] Seoul’s Sputnik moment

North Korea’s launch of a satellite using a self-developed rocket was a Sputnik moment for the South. It shocked South Koreans just as Sputnik 1, the first satellite the Soviet Union put into space in October 1957, shocked Americans.

Experts say the South is five to seven years behind the North in space technology. Seoul has yet to develop its own carrier rocket. Naro-1, the South’s first satellite carrier, has suffered two successive launch failures, with the third attempt delayed twice due to technical glitches.

Even if Naro-1 successfully blasts off, putting a satellite into orbit, the South still cannot claim to have mastered the rocket technology because the first stage of the two-stage rocket was provided by a Russian company.

Using Naro-1 as a stepping stone, the Seoul government plans to develop by 2021 a totally indigenous three-stage, liquid-fueled launch vehicle capable of carrying a 1.5-ton payload into orbit.

The gap between the two Koreas in rocket technology results from the differences in their policy priorities. The North has concentrated whatever resources it had in rocket development as part of its determination to build long-range missiles, which it saw as essential for national security.

In terms of the overall level of science and technology, the South is far ahead of the North. Yet the South has not been as serious as the North about building rockets.

South Korea’s space budget for 2012 is around 240 billion won ($200 million), too small compared with the billions of dollars spent by such Asian members of the space club as China, Japan and India.

Furthermore, Seoul’s space efforts have been circumscribed by a missile agreement with the United States, which until recently limited the range of South Korea’s missiles to 300 kilometers. The guideline was revised in October to extend the range to 800 kilometers.

But now the Seoul government should take the challenge posed by the North seriously and renew efforts to overcome all the restrictions it faces. It should remember how the United States responded to the shock caused by Sputnik 1.

Washington set up NASA and sharply increased government spending on scientific research and education. After a decade-long intensive campaign to develop science and technology, the U.S. launched Apollo 11 in 1969, landing a man on the moon for the first time.

The next government should learn from the U.S. experience. It should formulate a new vision and strategy to develop science and technology and promote space exploration.

In this regard, it is encouraging that the two main presidential candidates have all pledged to expand government support for science and technology.

During their third presidential debate on Sunday night, Park Geun-hye of the Saenuri Party said she would put science and technology at the center of her plan to reshape the Korean economy into a “creation-led economy.”

Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party also pledged to increase R&D spending and improve the working environment of researchers.

Whoever wins the election should deliver on their campaign promises without fail to make Korea a powerhouse in space technology.