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| Researchers at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) watch the launch of the Nuri space rocket at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, on a screen in the control room in KARI's headquarters in Daejeon, June 21. Courtesy of KARI |
By Park Jae-hyuk
Uncertainty has been growing surrounding Korea's mission to become a powerhouse in the space industry, as researchers of a state-run space research institute have begun to cry foul over their labor conditions, threatening to leave for better opportunities in the private sector.
Despite the recent success in launching a domestically developed space rocket, unionized researchers at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said that they have been paid lower wages than their peers at other public research institutions.
According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, a new KARI employee received around 38.5 million won ($30,000) in annual salary last year, while a new employee of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute was paid 53 million won.
KARI researchers also expressed concerns about the possible relocation of their workplace from Daejeon to more remote regions, such as Sacheon in South Gyeongsang Province or Goheung in South Jeolla Province. Some of them complained about insufficient reimbursement of their business travel expenses.
"Researchers in the field have been praised by the public for their achievements, but they are agonizing about whether to leave or stay," the KARI union said in a statement earlier this week.
The statement was issued a week after the Nuri launch vehicle placed a 1.3-ton dummy satellite and a 162.5-kilogram performance verification satellite into a low orbit of 700 kilometers above the earth last Tuesday.
Starting from Wednesday, the performance verification satellite also began to release four small cube satellites in a row to conduct various scientific projects, such as the observation of fine dust and geographical features. The science ministry plans to announce on Thursday morning the results of Wednesday afternoon's release of the first cube satellite made by Chosun University to monitor volcanic activity of Mount Paektu in North Korea.
In August, the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter named Danuri will be launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carried by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
The nation's first-ever lunar orbital project, however, has also been embroiled in controversy, as the project's researchers filed a lawsuit against KARI to receive a combined 140 million won in compensation for their work done between January and May 2019.
The institute refused to pay the money, claiming that the lunar research had been halted. On the other hand, the researchers argued that they had to continue their work at that time. Although the researchers won in their first trial, KARI appealed the ruling.
"In solidarity with the unions of other state-run research institutes, we will take every possible measure until our demands are fully satisfied," the KARI union said.
Amid the conflict, the science ministry announced on Tuesday that the government budget for R&D in the aerospace sector will rise 13.2 percent next year to 839.2 billion won.
"It will be used to make more investments in upgrading the locally developed launch vehicle and establishing a Korean version of GPS, as well as to support technical developments for commercialization of urban air mobility," the ministry said.
However, it is still unclear how much of the money will actually be used to improve the working conditions of KARI's researchers.
