Last November, Contec, the first South Korean space startup, went public. This company specializes in receiving, processing, and analyzing satellite images and data from ground stations.
Contec was founded in 2015 by Lee Sung-hee (49), a former employee of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), where he spent over a decade working on ground stations, launch vehicles, and satellites. Lee, who had just returned to Korea after spending two months in the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Luxembourg, shared his insights during a meeting on Mar. 27.
“I travel overseas about 150 times a year to promote the presence of cutting-edge space companies like Contec in Korea,” he said.
Contec operates 12 ground stations across 10 countries, including Jeju Island, Sweden, and Malaysia. The company’s business model involves using these stations to download, process, and analyze satellite observations of Earth, making the data easily accessible and available for commercial use.
“It is challenging for satellite and launch vehicle companies to establish global networks of ground stations for data collection,” he said. “Contec sets up these stations worldwide to facilitate real-time data reception on their behalf, and we also preprocess the data to eliminate distortions caused by clouds and atmospheric conditions.” Contec is the only company in Asia providing such comprehensive services with its ground stations.
Lee’s career at KARI began in 2002 when he started designing ground station systems for Korea’s first space launch vehicle, Naro. His perspective broadened during a 2010 project in Canada, where he observed space agency researchers launching startups and innovating within the field. Inspired by the successful Naro launch, Lee founded Contec in 2015 with support from KARI. However, the path was fraught with financial difficulties due to the long development cycles typical in the aerospace industry. He said, “To fund the business, I even sold a plot of land on Jeju Island that I had bought for retirement and invested my savings without my wife’s knowledge.”
“Having been paid by taxpayer money earlier in my career, I feel compelled to give back and help establish Korea as a leader in the space industry, aspiring to make Contec Korea’s equivalent of SpaceX.”
On Mar. 4, Contec marked a milestone by launching its satellite, ‘Oreum SAT,’ from the United States. Previously dependent on purchasing data from other satellites, the company can now directly capture observational data. This new capability supports various applications, including defense, maritime affairs, and disaster management.
“By June, all our satellite tests should be complete, allowing us to sell our images directly. We are planning to launch three more satellites by early 2026, including one dedicated to national defense,” Lee said.
