A Global Leader in Electromagnetic Technology Opening the Era of 6G and Aerospace | ERETEC

The world is now rapidly entering the era beyond 5G—toward next-generation wireless communication, 6G, which dramatically advances data transmission speed, latency, coverage, and intelligence. 6G does not merely represent an incremental speed upgrade over 5G; rather, it signals a paradigm shift in communication infrastructure, integrating multiple technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), satellite communications, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), and three-dimensional spatial communication coverage—ushering in a qualitatively different ecosystem from anything before.

South Korea, through strategic investment and policy initiatives led by national research institutes and government organizations, is accelerating its push to secure global leadership in 6G, aerospace, and electromagnetic technology. This article examines, from a technical perspective, Korea’s strengths and opportunities in this transition—and explores the future possibilities for ERETEC.

1. South Korea’s Current Progress in 6G Technology Development

▸ Government-led R&D and Strategic Initiatives

Since 2023, the Korean government has announced an investment of approximately 440.4 billion KRW (around USD 324.5 million) for 6G research and development (R&D).
In addition, the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) have designated future communication ecosystems integrating 6G mobile networks and satellite communication as national strategic technologies. They are now advancing regulatory improvements, frequency allocation frameworks, and policy development to promote 6G–aerospace convergence.

▸ Technology Demonstrations and Standardization Leadership

In 2025, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) successfully demonstrated a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) for a 200 Gbps-class 6G wireless link.
Considering current 5G download speeds are typically around 1 Gbps, this result represents roughly a 200-fold improvement in raw throughput.

Furthermore, ETRI also succeeded in a real-time demonstration of a spatial-space 6G communication system, integrating terrestrial and satellite networks. They showed uninterrupted handover between the terrestrial network and satellite network while an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) aircraft was in flight. This involved dual-steering technology, which automatically selects the most stable link depending on the operating environment.

These technological achievements are widely regarded as laying the groundwork for securing leadership in international standardization efforts.

2. 6G × Satellite Communication × Aerospace: Expansion Toward a Three-Dimensional Communication Infrastructure

Traditional mobile communication relies on a two-dimensional network structure built on terrestrial base stations.
However, the essential requirement for 6G extends far beyond speed, latency, and intelligence: it demands coverage without spatial limits—connectivity anywhere on Earth, including oceans, mountains, islands, aircraft, and polar regions.

To achieve this, Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communication and its integration with terrestrial networks—collectively known as Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN)—become indispensable. These technologies are expected to play a critical role in future industries and social infrastructure, including UAM, drones, maritime vessels, aviation, polar research, and emergency communication networks.

▸ Korea’s Response and Technological Self-Reliance

In April 2025, MSIT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute selected three research institutions to develop Korea’s 6G LEO satellite communication system.
ETRI is serving as the lead organization, collaborating with private-sector companies specializing in terminal and ground-station development, as well as Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), which is responsible for satellite structure and system integration.

Additionally, Korea aims to build a domestic 6G satellite ecosystem, leveraging its growing aerospace capabilities, as demonstrated by the launch of Neonsat-1, a domestically developed small LEO satellite.

Simultaneously, Korea is strengthening measurement and certification infrastructure required to ensure the reliability of critical components. For example, the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) has established electromagnetic impedance measurement standards for waveguides, a key component in 6G LEO satellite communication.
This provides an objective foundation for verifying the performance and quality of domestic satellites and communication modules.

3. Core Elements of 6G Technology: What Makes It Different?

According to recent technical literature and industry analyses, 6G differs fundamentally from previous generations due to the convergence of the following core technologies:

• Cell-free Massive MIMO:
A distributed antenna structure that surrounds each user rather than relying on a cell-based architecture. Enables interference suppression, coverage expansion, and more efficient spectrum utilization.

• THz / High-Frequency Bands + Wide Spectrum Usage:
Expands operation from several GHz to tens of GHz and into terahertz bands, enabling ultra-high-speed communications.

• Intelligent Networks:
AI/ML technologies optimize network resources, predict traffic, determine routing, improve energy efficiency, and enable integrated communication–computing–sensing services.

• Space–Air–Ground–Sea Integrated Networks:
A unified system that combines terrestrial, satellite, aerial, and maritime networks, providing coverage without geographical constraints.
Particularly advantageous for disaster response, polar missions, maritime communication, aviation, and UAM.

• Fiber-based Fronthaul and Backhaul + High-Reliability Transport:
Beyond radio access networks (RAN), 6G depends heavily on high-speed fiber transmission to ensure network reliability and scalability.

Through the complementary operation of these technologies, 6G enables a communication ecosystem that transcends mere speed—one that surpasses conventional limits of space, time, and functional capability.

4. Why Korean Companies, Especially ERETEC, Are Well Positioned for Global Competition

▸ The Timing of National Policy Support

The Korean government and related institutions have announced clear investment roadmaps for 6G, strategic plans for integrating satellite communications with next-generation networks, and a commitment to leading international standardization. These signals indicate that the ecosystem is moving beyond academic demonstrations or lab-level proofs of concept and is now creating an environment where private companies can develop real 6G-based products and solutions.

In this moment, companies specializing in electromagnetic technologies, communication hardware, and software are presented with a golden opportunity to expand toward the global market.

▸ The Strategic Value of Technological Self-Reliance and Localization

Core components and systems—such as satellite payloads, user terminals, antennas, waveguides, integrated communication software, sensing technology, and control modules—are at the center of the global race to dominate 6G-enabled aerospace and non-terrestrial communication infrastructure.

In this context, building domestic technology capabilities and an independent supply ecosystem provides several strategic advantages:
• Greater resilience and independence within global supply chains
• Enhanced competitiveness based on high reliability and quality
• Stronger influence and decision-making power in international standardization discussions

Companies that possess such technological autonomy and standardization readiness are well positioned to become key players across the converging markets of 6G + aerospace + non-terrestrial networks + smart infrastructure.

5. Future Application Scenarios and Opportunities for Global Leadership

6G is a next-generation communication ecosystem that redefines the nature of connectivity, integrating multiple technologies—satellites, NTN, aerospace systems, AI, and optical networks. South Korea now stands at the center of this transition.

ERETEC is an organization with both interest and capability in electromagnetic technology and innovative communication infrastructure. With these strengths, ERETEC is positioned at a pivotal moment—one that may determine its global leadership in the era to come.

The future will be a world where connectivity is spatially unconstrained, reliable, and intelligent—available anytime, anywhere.
And the key to unlocking that world is already in our hands.