President Lee applauds successful Nuri rocket launch

President Lee Jae Myung watched the successful Nuri rocket launch live on Wednesday and called it a result of active government support for space launches, urging officials to shorten future launch intervals to accelerate advances in satellite technology, Cheong Wa Dae said.

Presidential spokesperson Kim Sung-wan said at a briefing at Chunchugwan that Lee watched the fifth Nuri launch in real time at his Cheong Wa Dae office alongside Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, Policy Chief Ha Jun-kyung and Senior Secretary for AI and Future Planning Lee Hae-min.

Kim said the president asked Lee Hae-min in detail about launch preparations, the status of the mission and the types and functions of the satellites on board. Lee Hae-min explained that the launch would lay the groundwork for the private sector to enter the commercial launch vehicle market through a large-scale government technology transfer, and that it would mark the country's first cluster satellite launch, boosting the reliability of the launch vehicle, Kim said.

Kim added that the president held his breath from liftoff until all satellites had been successfully deployed, then broke into applause when the launch was confirmed and footage showed researchers at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute cheering.

"The previous government conducted two launches over 36 months. The Lee Jae Myung administration has achieved the same in just 17 months," Kim said, adding that the government plans to increase the number of launches going forward.