Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Announces Legislative Notice for Autonomous Vehicle Act Subordinate Laws... Collecting Opinions Until March

Detailed Procedures and Submission Documents Required for Law Enforcement
Autonomous Vehicle Act Subordinate Legislation Briefing at 2 PM on the 12th

Interior view of an autonomous vehicle (Photo by Ministry of SMEs and Startups)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] A concrete institutional foundation will be established to help activate businesses applying autonomous driving technology.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 9th that it will announce subordinate legislation to stipulate matters delegated by the "Act on the Promotion of Commercialization and Operation Basis of Autonomous Vehicles" (hereinafter referred to as the Autonomous Vehicle Act), which was promulgated in April last year.

Previously, the government enacted the Autonomous Vehicle Act to establish grounds for designating pilot operation zones that grant regulatory exceptions for paid passenger and freight transportation using autonomous vehicles.

The newly established subordinate legislation includes detailed procedures and required submission documents necessary for the enforcement of the law.

First, the provincial governor who wishes to designate a pilot operation zone must submit an operation plan to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, including specific details of regulatory exceptions and safety assurance measures, and the designation period of the pilot operation zone shall be set within a range of five years.

The pilot operation zone is designated through deliberation and resolution by the Pilot Operation Zone Committee. The committee is chaired by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and private members, and government members are appointed as vice-minister-level officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the National Police Agency.

(Data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

If a business operator intends to provide paid services within the pilot operation zone by applying regulatory exceptions under the Passenger Transport Service Act and the Freight Transport Service Act, they must submit documents such as the vehicle registration certificate to confirm the driving safety of the autonomous vehicle, as well as proof of insurance enrollment.

Additionally, to effectively operate and manage the pilot operation zones, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will evaluate and disclose annual performance reports submitted by local governments, considering factors such as achievement of plans and effects of regulatory exceptions.

Furthermore, the definitions of the Autonomous Driving Cooperative System (C-ITS) and high-definition road maps, as stipulated in the law, have been specified according to detailed functional elements.

C-ITS is a technology that compensates for the limitations of vehicle sensors by receiving information through communication between vehicles and between vehicles and infrastructure, even when autonomous vehicle sensors cannot properly recognize the surrounding environment.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will also hold an explanatory meeting on the subordinate legislation of the Autonomous Vehicle Act at 2 p.m. on the 12th at the El Tower Gold Hall in Yangjae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, to gather opinions.

If there are any opinions on the draft, they can be submitted by mail, fax, or online until March 11 for the enforcement decree and until March 23 for the enforcement rules.

Kim Sangseok, Director of Vehicle Management at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, explained, "We plan to actively review the opinions gathered from the explanatory meeting and legislative notice," adding, "Once the law is enforced, we will promote the commercialization of various services through pilot operation zones that can resolve complex regulations at once."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.