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[Sports Seoul | Senior Reporter Lee Sang-bae] As global competition for space dominance accelerates, the National Assembly has begun serious debate on a Defense Space Act to safeguard South Korea\u2019s space sovereignty.<\/p>\n
Translation result.
[Sports Seoul | Senior Reporter Lee Sang-bae] As global competition for space dominance accelerates, the National Assembly has begun serious debate on a Defense Space Act to safeguard South Korea\u2019s space sovereignty.<\/p>\n
On the morning of the 20th, Rep. Yoo Yong-won of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly\u2019s Defense Committee, convened a policy forum in the National Assembly Members\u2019 Office Building titled From Commercial Space Law to the Security Space Era: Building the Foundation for a Defense Space Act. The forum aimed to fast-track the legal and institutional framework needed to support a national space security strategy as threats in orbit become more concrete.<\/p>\n
Panelists examined key challenges that arise as space emerges as a new battlefield. Discussion focused on legal standards for justifiable defense and response models for space threats; defining legal liability and the state\u2019s role when satellites are attacked or other space assets are infringed; and legislative directions for building civil-military integrated space infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Experts who presented and debated agreed that the current legal framework is inadequate to address emerging space security threats. \u201cThreats in outer space are becoming real, but we still lack clear legal standards and response systems to govern them,\u201d one expert said. \u201cWe urgently need comprehensive national laws and institutions that account for scenarios up to and including combat in space.\u201d<\/p>\n
The threat is not hypothetical. Documents Rep. Yoo obtained from the Defense Ministry indicate North Korean forces carried out multiple radio-frequency attacks against South Korean satellites from the early 2010s through mid-2024. Analysts characterize those incidents as attempts to disrupt the normal operations of military synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and electro-optical\/infrared (EO\/IR) reconnaissance satellites, communications satellites, and even civilian satellites.<\/p>\n
Kim Ki-won, a senior research fellow at KIDA who chaired the forum, said recent advances in science and technology mark a turning point for humanity and for space. \u201cThe Defense Space Act under discussion will do more than legislate,\u201d he said. \u201cIt can become a central driver for national security and for public-private-military cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kim Kwon-il, a research fellow at the Science and Technology Policy Institute, warned that space is a domain where electronic warfare and information warfare can play out. \u201cExisting legal systems fall short of addressing these new threats,\u201d he said. \u201cWe urgently need standards to systematically protect and operate space assets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Professor Jung Young-jin of the Korea National Defense University said the international focus in space centers on safety and sustainability. He called for a nationwide governance system for collecting and analyzing operational data on space assets to prepare effectively for threats.<\/p>\n
Professor Jeong Heon-joo of Yonsei University urged that law should explicitly define space infrastructure and civil-military integrated space infrastructure, and codify the state\u2019s roles and responsibilities in building them. \u201cBuilding civil-military integrated space infrastructure is not optional\u2014it\u2019s essential,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Rep. Yoo warned that space is rapidly shifting from a sector of future industry into a core national-security battlefield. \u201cWe must now treat space not as a realm of potential but as one of responsibility and preparedness,\u201d he said, calling for a national strategic response commensurate with that reality.<\/p>\n
Citing North Korea\u2019s radio-frequency attacks as tangible provocation, Rep. Yoo pledged to swiftly draft a Defense Space Act based on the forum\u2019s recommendations so the military can assert operational leadership in space and protect the public.<\/p>\n
The policy proposals presented at the forum are expected to serve as core legislative reference material during the drafting of the Defense Space Act. sangbae0302@sportsseoul.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
South Korea is advancing discussions on the ‘Defense Space Law’ to protect its space sovereignty amid global space competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/thumbnail\/2026\/04\/CP-2025-0118\/thumb-e0259c5f-cb73-4752-8abb-809ce2d9d2f8.jpg","footnotes":""},"categories":[278104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-257943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military"],"yoast_head":"\n