Autonomous Driving Service Officially 'Starts' in Pangyo as Well

Designation of Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Zones Following Six Locations Including Seoul and Sejong

Location map of the autonomous vehicle pilot operation zone in Pangyo Zero City, Gyeonggi-do.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] The section of Pangyo Zero City 1st Technovalley in Gyeonggi-do (covering Bundang-gu and Sujeong-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do) has been designated as an autonomous vehicle pilot operation zone, allowing private companies to freely conduct demonstrations of autonomous driving services in the area.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 26th that it held the "2nd Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Operation Zone Committee" and officially designated the Pangyo Zero City 1st Technovalley section in Gyeonggi-do as an autonomous vehicle pilot operation zone effective from the 27th. The pilot operation zone is a newly introduced system under the "Autonomous Vehicle Act," which has been in effect since May last year, and is an area where regulatory exemptions are applied to promote research and pilot operation of autonomous vehicles.

Private autonomous vehicle companies operating in the zone are granted various regulatory exemptions such as permission for paid passenger and freight transport, exemption from vehicle safety standards during temporary operation permits, and exemptions from road construction and management by non-road management authorities. This allows them to conduct demonstrations from a business operation perspective while charging actual fees and consider commercialization.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport initially designated six zones including Seoul and Sejong as pilot operation zones in November last year and has been accepting applications from local governments on an ongoing basis.

The newly designated Pangyo Zero City autonomous vehicle pilot operation zone in Gyeonggi-do was highly evaluated in terms of infrastructure, as it has an integrated control center and IoT (Internet of Things) service infrastructure for safe autonomous driving, and all sections of the pilot operation zone routes are monitored in real-time via CCTV, enabling stable autonomous driving service operation.

Gyeonggi-do plans to utilize autonomous driving support infrastructure encompassing the advanced industrial complex of Pangyo Technovalley to establish an early hub for the autonomous driving transport mobility ecosystem. Services such as demand-responsive taxi service within Pangyo 1st Technovalley and shuttle services between Gyeonggi Business Growth Center and Pangyo 1st Technovalley will be introduced.

Among the six pilot operation zones designated last year, autonomous vehicle-based service demonstrations have started in Sejong and Gwangju. The newly added Gyeonggi-do and other zones plan to begin service demonstrations from the second half of this year.

Private companies wishing to demonstrate services within the pilot operation zones must obtain the necessary regulatory exemption permits from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport or the relevant local government, and meet conditions such as temporary operation permits and compulsory insurance for operating vehicles before conducting demonstrations. The Ministry will actively support local governments seeking new pilot operation zone designations through consulting and will carefully review and deliberate on submitted operation plans to continue adding pilot operation zones.

Hwang Seong-gyu, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "The experience of demonstrating services with actual fees through the 'autonomous vehicle pilot operation zones,' which will begin full operation this year, will serve as an important stepping stone for service commercialization." He added, "We will continue to actively promote the nationwide expansion of autonomous vehicle pilot operation zones, support the expansion of paid service demonstrations, and enhance public acceptance of the technology."

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