John Lee, former NASA senior executive, takes charge of R&D at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Appointment of head of mission… Working at the White House also leads international cooperation projects at NASA with an annual salary of 250 million won… It is 100 million more than the Commissioner, and the Space Agency Commissioner will announce it as early as today.

It has been confirmed that John Lee, a former senior executive at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (pictured), has been nominated as the first head of the Aerospace Mission Directorate of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. As he is a person who has managed major space programs while working at NASA and the White House for a total of about 30 years, he is evaluated as a suitable person to oversee research and development (R&D) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

According to the government and the Presidential Office on the 23rd, appointment proposals for major positions such as the Director of the Aerospace Administration and the Director of the Mission Headquarters are scheduled to be announced as early as the 24th. Former senior executive John Lee, who was appointed as the first mission director, served as a senior advisor at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center until 2021 and led the operation and management of U.S. space projects.

Goddard Space Flight Center is NASA’s main research center that leads international cooperation between countries, including the Hubble Space Telescope. As the government emphasized ‘international cooperation’ in the field of scientific R&D, it is interpreted that it highly evaluated former senior executive John Lee, who led major projects there.

The head of the mission is responsible for overseeing the R&D planning and execution of the Korea Aerospace Administration. This is the ‘Number 2’ position following the Director of the Aerospace Administration, and will be responsible for presenting the vision and direction of R&D of the Korea Aerospace Administration along with the Administrator. According to the organization plan of the Aerospace Administration, four divisions are included under the head of the mission headquarters: space transportation, artificial satellites, space science exploration, and aviation innovation.

Previously, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that the annual salary of the head of the mission was set at 250 million won. Excluding President Yoon Seok-yeol, this is the highest salary level among public officials, and is more than 100 million won higher than that of the Vice Minister-level Director of the Aerospace Administration (approximately 140 million won).

Unlike the head of the Aerospace Administration, who can only be appointed by Korean nationals, the head of the mission headquarters can also appoint foreigners (including those with multiple nationalities). Former senior executive John Lee is Korean-American. Previously, the government has repeatedly expressed its intention to recruit ‘overseas’ people from world-class space organizations such as NASA. In addition, fixed-term public servants of the Aerospace Administration hired from the private sector, including the head of the mission headquarters, are exempt from the stock blind trust obligation. An official from the Ministry of Science and ICT explained, “We tried to eliminate many restrictions that had been obstacles to recruiting private experts and overseas talent.”

The Korea Aerospace Administration, which is scheduled to open on May 27, is currently recruiting fixed-term civil servants except for major positions. Once the appointments for major positions such as the Commissioner and Head of Mission are completed, the appointment of Program Directors (Level 4) and higher will be carried out over time.

Reporter Choi Ji-won [email protected]