From October, 'Commercial Autonomous Vehicles' Operate in Seoul Sangam... Seoul City Enacts First Ordinance

'Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Operation Zone Management and Support Ordinance' Promulgated and Enforced on the 20th... Promoting Commercialization
Recruitment of Operators for Paid Transport Services Including Autonomous Circular Buses and App-Called Mobility Services by the End of July

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it has enacted and will implement from the 20th the ordinance on the operation and support of the Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Operation Zone to promote the commercialization of autonomous vehicles.

Through this ordinance, Seoul has established procedures and standards for issuing paid transportation licenses using autonomous vehicles. It also includes related provisions to enable various administrative and financial support at the Seoul city level. The ordinance covers all aspects of the operation of the ‘Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Operation Zone’ designated in Sangam last December under the Act on Promotion and Support of Commercialization of Autonomous Vehicles.

The ‘Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Operation Zone’ allows, under related laws, various automobile-related regulations to be specially applied, so that once temporary operation permits from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport are obtained, business licenses can be issued by local governments to provide paid transportation services using autonomous vehicles.

With the enforcement of the ordinance, various commercial autonomous vehicle services where citizens pay fares like public transportation will become possible in the Sangam area. After recruiting private operators by the end of this month, autonomous buses circulating the Sangam area and app-called autonomous vehicle mobility services are scheduled to be launched from October.

Seoul plans to provide administrative and financial support for building essential infrastructure for autonomous paid transportation services, such as dedicated parking zones, bus stop signboards, and payment systems. A mobility platform enabling the calling and use of all autonomous vehicles in the Sangam area through a single mobile app will also be implemented through public-private collaboration. In particular, Seoul plans to contribute to leading the global market with domestic autonomous driving technology and industry by providing various support measures, as autonomous paid transportation is at an initial stage where business deficits are expected.

The ordinance includes the establishment of an ‘Autonomous Driving Committee,’ regulations on paid transportation license issuance procedures and detailed safety standards, and grounds for administrative and financial support. The ‘Seoul Metropolitan Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Operation Zone Operation Committee,’ which advises and deliberates on Seoul’s autonomous driving policies and verifies autonomous vehicle safety, will be established in August. Through collective intelligence of experts in autonomous driving and passenger transportation, it will establish a commercialization vision and policies looking 10 years ahead and create a sustainable autonomous mobility industry model through public-private cooperation.

To ensure citizens can use autonomous vehicles with confidence, detailed safety standards and paid transportation license issuance procedures have been prepared to verify operational capabilities before issuing licenses. Rather than issuing licenses based solely on documents and temporary operation permits, related regulations require a stage to verify safe driving ability on actual roads and the quality of services provided to citizens before license issuance.

Additionally, the ordinance includes various administrative and financial support measures at the Seoul city level for autonomous paid transportation operators. To resolve garage issues, dedicated autonomous vehicle parking zones will be provided within city-owned public parking lots. Operators can also receive support for ancillary facilities such as bus stop signboards, as well as costs for installing video recording devices and payment systems.

Along with the full enforcement of the ordinance, Seoul will recruit operators to implement autonomous paid transportation services by the end of this month. After selection and preparation, services will begin in October. Selected operators will launch various services in the Sangam-dong area, designated as the ‘Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Operation Zone.’ These include an ‘autonomous bus’ circulating the Sangam area, an ‘autonomous vehicle mobility service’ that can be called via smartphone app on fixed routes, and a ‘specialized service for transportation-vulnerable groups’ capable of carrying wheelchairs.

Meanwhile, Seoul plans to release a mobile app developed through public-private collaboration as early as this year that provides real-time operation information of all autonomous vehicles operating in the Sangam-dong area and enables calling, reservation, and payment.

Baek Ho, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Urban Transportation Office, said, “With the enactment of this ordinance, we will accelerate the commercialization of autonomous mobility and develop Seoul into a future transportation innovation city where global companies come to complete autonomous driving technology.” He added, “We will focus all our capabilities on supporting autonomous vehicles to become an essential transportation means used by all citizens and to enable the domestic autonomous driving industry to lead the global market.”

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