South Korea
National involvement
South Korea's journey in radio astronomy began in the mid-1980s with the construction of the Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory (TRAO) at the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI). Since then, KASI has continuously contributed to the field and has been an observer on the SKA Organisation Board and SKAO Council. Since the establishment of the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) in May 2024, KASI became a subordinated research institute of the new agency.
In May 2025, MoU between the SKAO and KASA, and Cooperation Arrangement between the SKAO and KASI officially solidified South Korea's involvement in the SKA project. As a result, Korean scientists and institutes can now participate in SKAO's activities as the observatory moves forward with construction toward its scientific program, which is expected to begin in the late 2020s. KASA looks forward to the significant contributions Korea will make in this exciting new chapter.
Industrial Participation
Even before formal membership discussions, South Korean industry demonstrated its capabilities and interest in the SKA project. This early engagement highlights the nation's existing technical expertise. Building on its world-leading IT and manufacturing sectors, South Korea is now actively exploring a range of potential contributions, seeking to leverage its industrial strengths to support the construction and future operation of the SKA telescopes, ensuring a robust and technologically advanced partnership.
Science Interests
The South Korean astronomical community is actively preparing for the SKA era, with broad scientific interests that span the observatory's key science goals. Researchers at KASI various universities in the country have particular interests in cosmology, the distribution of neutral hydrogen (HI), Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), supermassive black holes (SMBHs), cosmic magnetism, and transients. A significant strength of the community lies in its world-class expertise in Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), with a growing focus on contributing to SKA-VLBI initiatives. This interest is a natural extension of the deep practical knowledge gained from operating the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) and the recent Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration. The community is actively exploring its potential role in SKA-VLBI, a field poised to innovation micro-arcsecond astrometry and provide extreme tests of general relativity.
Wider Impact
South Korea's investment in the SKA nurture the next generation of scientists, collaborating with universities to develop competitive PhD and post-doctoral fellowship programs and community events like the SKA Korea meetings, fostering talent with advanced data analytics skills. Crucially, the nation already possesses the necessary high-performance infrastructure. Korea Research Environment Open Network (KREONET), known as the "Science Super Highway”, has already proven its capabilities on a global scale by successfully transferring massive datasets for the Korean VLBI Network and its internal cooperations. This demonstrated success provides a robust, low-risk foundation for South Korea's contribution to the SKA Regional Centre Network. By participating in SKAO Science Data Challenges, the community is also gaining invaluable hands-on experience with SKA-scale data, ensuring they are well-prepared for the operational phase.
