Evaluating the Public Value of Improving Early Detection Accuracy of Cumulonimbus Using a Geostationary Satellite in South Korea

The Cheollian Satellite 2A called Geo-Kompsat-2A is a geostationary meteorological satellite operated by Korea Meteorological Administration for weather and space-weather observation purposes. This article seeks to evaluate the public value arising from improving the accuracy of early detection of cumulonimbus using Geo-Kompsat-2A. To this end, an economic technique called contingent valuation (CV) is adopted taking a three step approach. In step 1, a CV questionnaire was prepared for deriving the willingness to pay (WTP) for the improvement. In step 2, a nationwide survey of 1000 households was conducted using the CV questionnaire and employing person-to-person interviews with household visits. In step 3, the average WTP was estimated. The yearly household average WTP was KRW 2143 (USD 1.91), securing statistical significance. Adjusting this value to suit the entire population of South Korea produces a yearly public value of KRW 44.1 billion (USD 39.3 million). Although it is not easy to accurately evaluate the costs involved in the improvement, the results of conducting a pilot cost-benefit analysis suggest that the improvement secures social desirability.