Electric Scooter 'Life-Risking Rush' to Be Prevented... Management Law to Be Enacted Next Year

Government Establishes 'Proactive Regulatory Reform Roadmap for Hydrogen and Electric Vehicles'
"Considering Allowing Electric Kickboards and E-Bikes on Bicycle Lanes"

A citizen wearing no protective gear rides an electric scooter speeding between cars on the Seoul Namsan Circular Road. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government is set to enact a management law for personal mobility (PM) devices such as electric kickboards. It will also review whether PMs can be allowed to operate on bicycle lanes. This move draws attention as PMs are currently classified as vehicles under the Road Traffic Act, forcing PM users onto the roadways, which has led to fatal accidents involving unlicensed drivers, prompting the government to devise countermeasures.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the National Police Agency discussed and finalized the "Preemptive Regulatory Reform Roadmap for Eco-friendly Vehicles (Hydrogen and Electric Vehicles)" at the National Policy Issue Coordination Meeting chaired by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on the 23rd. This roadmap was prepared to anticipate the development trends of future new technologies, identify and address issues before problems arise, and resolve difficulties.

Based on experts' forecasts that eco-friendly vehicles will account for 20-30% of global vehicles by 2030, the government derived a total of 40 improvement tasks (24 for hydrogen vehicles, 16 for electric vehicles, with 4 overlapping). The tasks include not only regulatory improvements but also newly required standards and institutional infrastructure for technological response and safety preparedness.

Notably, the government refined safety regulations for PMs, which have recently been involved in unlicensed driving and safety accidents. By next year, it plans to enact the "Act on the Promotion of Personal Mobility Use" (tentative title) to bring PMs under formal regulation and management. Until now, PMs have been classified as vehicles (motorized devices) under the Road Traffic Act, requiring them to travel on roadways, which has been practically difficult. Riding on sidewalks was also illegal.

By next year, the government will review whether PMs can be allowed to operate on bicycle lanes. It will also establish safety standards applicable to all PMs traveling at speeds of 25 km/h or less. Currently, only five types?skateboards, kickboards, two-wheeled parallel vehicles, four-wheeled boards, and two-wheeled boards?are regulated.

Measures related to hydrogen vehicles were also presented. Within this year, eco-friendly vehicles will be exempted from detailed emission inspections, and a dedicated insurance product for hydrogen vehicles will be developed. Restrictions on pressure and volume standards for tube trailers used in hydrogen transport will be relaxed. Currently, the limits are 450 bar (450 times atmospheric pressure) and 450 liters, but these will be increased to 700 bar and 1400 liters by 2024.

Safety standards for liquid hydrogen will also be established, as it is expected to become more prevalent due to its capability for larger-scale transport and storage compared to gaseous hydrogen. The government anticipates expanding the application of hydrogen fuel cells to large machinery such as excavators, railways, and ships, and will prepare the necessary technical standards.

Infrastructure-related tasks, which are central to the "hydrogen economy," will also be identified. By 2022, if vehicle sellers invest in building charging stations, this will be recognized as a low-emission vehicle distribution achievement to encourage the expansion of charging infrastructure. The government expects synergy with the "Low-Emission Vehicle Distribution Target System," which requires vehicle sellers to supply a certain percentage of low-emission vehicles out of total sales. Additionally, mandatory purchases of eco-friendly vehicles in the public sector will be increased. By this year, the construction of multi-layered hydrogen production and charging facilities will be permitted. By 2024, systems capable of diagnosing and responding to hydrogen charging station malfunctions in advance will be developed and distributed.

Electric vehicle measures were not overlooked. By this year, the government will mandate the generation of vehicle operation warning sounds, considering that the lack of noise makes it difficult to detect approaching vehicles in alleys and similar areas. It will review allowing ultra-small electric vehicles to operate on certain automobile-only roads (less than 5 km). However, bans on passage for two-wheeled vehicles and bicycles will be maintained.

Standards related to electric vehicle batteries will also be established. By 2023, standards will be set to increase the capacity of fast chargers from the current 200 kW class to 400 kW class. By 2031, standards and certification criteria for wireless charging technology will be prepared. A battery database (DB) by vehicle model will be built to enable reuse of batteries used in electric vehicles, along with performance evaluation and grading criteria.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo stated, "This roadmap will play a key role in achieving goals such as creating 150,000 cumulative jobs in the eco-friendly vehicle sector by 2025 and attaining a 10% global market share for Korean companies in eco-friendly vehicles by 2030." He added, "We will maintain our position as a global leader by operating a two-track system: addressing current difficulties through regulatory sandboxes and proactively responding to future regulations with this roadmap."

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to regularly review the implementation of the roadmap in connection with future car industry alliances. The roadmap will be updated considering technological developments and environmental policies.

The government also plans to establish and announce a regulatory reform roadmap for augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) within this year.

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