Sejong Begins Demonstration Project for 'Autonomous Driving' Regulatory Sandbox Zone

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Sejong Autonomous Driving Regulatory Free Zone demonstration project is set to begin in earnest.

On the 25th, Sejong City announced that Mayor Lee Chun-hee, Minister Park Young-sun of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Administrator Lee Moon-gi of the Administrative City Construction Agency, and representatives from autonomous driving companies gathered at Sejong Central Park for a communication meeting and on-site test drive event.

The event was significant as it marked the start of the Sejong Autonomous Driving Regulatory Free Zone demonstration project by inspecting the site, including vehicles and safety measures, and checking the autonomous driving infrastructure.

So far, the Sejong Autonomous Driving Regulatory Free Zone has been preparing demonstrations across three sections: ▲ autonomous driving in urban parks ▲ low-speed autonomous driving in residential complexes ▲ high-speed autonomous driving on general roads (BRT).

Continuing this, Sejong Central Park will host the country's first large-scale autonomous driving shuttle service demonstration within an urban park. Until the park opens in September, the safety of domestically produced autonomous vehicles developed by unmanned technology specialists will be inspected, and after the opening, citizens will be able to experience it firsthand.

Additionally, in residential complexes near Sejong Tech Valley, low-speed autonomous vehicles with artificial intelligence (AI) mobility will be demonstrated, and in September, high-speed autonomous vehicles will be demonstrated on the BRT road to discover commercialization models suitable for Sejong's traffic conditions.

From this month, autonomous driving-related companies such as Phantom AI Korea, Autonomous A2Z, and Naver Systems are also expected to participate in the demonstration project.

The city and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups plan to focus on discovering commercialization models for autonomous driving services suitable for Sejong's traffic conditions by deploying various vehicle types, including domestic autonomous vehicles as well as shuttles from France's Navya and New Zealand's Omio.

Mayor Lee Chun-hee said, “In cooperation with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, we will develop Sejong City into a ‘Smart Mobility Innovation City’ leading the commercialization of autonomous vehicles.”

Minister Park Young-sun emphasized, “The core of digital infrastructure is the convergence of 5G and foundational industries,” adding, “To integrate the ‘5G 28GHz millimeter wave,’ a key technology for autonomous driving V2X (vehicle-to-everything communication), into the Sejong Free Zone, it is necessary for the public and private sectors to unite and revitalize 5G-based digital new industries.”

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