President Yoon Suk Yeol has promised a moon landing within ten years and a Mars mission within 23 years.

Presenting his "Future Space Economy Roadmap" on Monday, the president said that South Korea will develop its own space rocket engine for the lunar mission within five years and begin mining the moon for resources from 2032.

The long-term space plan includes a Mars landing by 2045, marking the 100th anniversary of independence from Japanese colonial occupation.

To meet the ambitious goal, South Korea will soon have its own version of NASA as the government seeks to open an era of space economy.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on Monday that it has launched a team tasked with establishing South Korea's very own space agency, dubbed the Space and Aeronautics Administration.

Establishing an aerospace agency was one of President Yoon Suk Yeol's campaign pledges to secure competitiveness in the global space industry and vitalize the country's aerospace sector.