South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT has approved SpaceX and OneWeb to launch satellite internet services in the country. The government sanctioned three cross-border agreements: one between SpaceX and its subsidiary Starlink Korea; the second between Hanwha Systems Co. and OneWeb; and the third between KT Sat and OneWeb.
SpaceX has established a subsidiary, Starlink Korea, to advance its Starlink services. The Ministry stated that the approval followed an evaluation of three critical factors: the potential for stable service provision, the expected impact on the domestic telecom market, and consumer protection.
Under South Korea's revised Radio Waves Act, Starlink and OneWeb are permitted to use local frequencies. The Ministry indicated that services might commence as early as June this year. Starlink aims to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet globally through its low Earth orbit satellite constellation. Foreign companies must sign supply agreements with local telecom operators to offer communication network services in South Korea.
