MEST(Ministry of Education, Science, Technology) and KARI(Korea Aerospace Research Institute) have failed to launch NARO(KSLV-1, Korea Space Launch Vehicle-I) twice in 2009 and 2010. These attempts were based on Master Plan for Space Exploration established in 1996. According to the Plan, the final goal was the successful launch of rocket made in Korea, which had the 1.5t-weighed application satellite(KSLV-II). The slogan was ‘Our Own Satellite, Rocket, and Space Center’. The mission of NARO was on the intermediate pathway for the final goal, that is, NARO had the 100kg-weighed science satellite. Also the lower part of rocket was made in Russia, not in Korea. But MEST and KARI made the communication strategy for NARO using the same slogan as the PLAN in 1996.
This article showed that the communication strategy for NARO resulted in deep distrust against MEST and KARI from the public as well as the doubt on technical inability of them. The successive delays of launch times brought the suspicion about the truth of contraction between Korea and Russia from mass media. After the fact that the lower part of rocket had been made in Russia became known, the public began to criticize on the communication strategy of MEST and KARI. Also the fact that the mission of NARO had been different obviously from KSLV-II was pointed out from the academic field after the first failure of launch. Finally the distrust of the public partly resulted in the request for change of organization in KARI. In 2011, the heads of KARI and KSLV-II Program were changed to outer specialists to strengthen the cooperation among industry, university, governmental institute for the success of Korean space exploration.