Astronaut's space technology vow

28 April 2008 12:00am

South Korea's first astronaut says she will do her best to help her country develop its own space technology.

Bioengineer Yi So-yeon, 29, said that she will "pay back" the support the South Korean people gave for her trip to space.

Yi works for the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute.

The South Korean government paid Russia 20 million dollars (£10 million) for her flight to the international space station aboard a Russian capsule earlier this month.

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