KT Sat, a subsidiary of Korea-based KT Corporation, signed the contract with Thales Alenia Space announced in May 2014 for the construction of two satellites, KoreaSat-5A and KoreaSat-7. The two satellites would provide Internet access, multimedia, broadcasting and fixed communications services.

Built on the Upgraded Spacebus-4000B2 platform from Thales Alenia Space, KoreaSat-7 will carry Ku-band transponders and will Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia and India. The satellite weighed about 3,500kgs at launch and offered a payload power of about 7kW. KoreaSat-7 is positioned at 116° East.

KoreaSat-7 was launched on May 5th, 2017, on an Ariane 5ECA rocket operated by launch operator Arianespace.