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Female engineer to become the first S Korean astronaut

"The honor to become South Korea's first astronaut will belong to a woman, when and if Yi eventually goes aboard the Soyuz capsule."

Lee Sang-mok, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology official

South Korea said yesterday a female engineer would become the country's first person in space by going aboard a Russian spacecraft, after Moscow rejected Seoul's first choice because he violated reading rules at a training center.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said at a news conference that Yi So-yeon would replace Ko San as its choice to fly on a Russian Soyuz capsule to the International Space Station early next month.

South Korea originally named Ko as its candidate in September, but Russia's Federal Space Agency asked for a replacement last month because he violated regulations at a Russian space training center where the two South Koreans have been training, said Lee Sang-mok, a senior ministry official.

The Russian authorities said Ko took a book out of the center without permission and sent it to his home in South Korea in September, Lee said. Ko later returned the book, explaining he accidently sent it home together with other personal belongings.

Last month, Ko again violated a regulation by getting a book from the center through a Russian colleague -- material he was not supposed to read, Lee said. Officials did not give details about the book's contents.

"The Russian space agency has stressed that a minor mistake and disobedience can cause serious consequences," Lee said.

Ko will remain at the Russian space center and train with Lee, the ministry official said.

Yi, 29, will work aboard the International Space Station for about 10 days with five other cosmonauts, a ministry statement said.

Yi, employed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, the ministry said.

Last month, she received her PhD in a bioengineering from the same school.

"The honor to become South Korea's first astronaut will belong to a woman, when and if Yi eventually goes aboard the Soyuz capsule," Lee said.
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