"Autonomous Vehicle Era Approaching, Government Support Needed to Accelerate Workforce Training and Regulatory Improvements"

The 18th Automotive Industry Development Forum Held
Tax Support Should Be Expanded to Include Future Car Technologies Such as Autonomous Vehicles in National Strategic Technologies

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] As the development and commercialization of autonomous vehicle technology accelerate worldwide, there is a growing call for rapid national-level support in South Korea, including workforce training and regulatory improvements.

Professor Kim Joongheon of Korea University projected at the Automotive Industry Development Forum, held online on the morning of the 15th by the Korea Automobile Industry Association (KAIA) under the theme "Core Technologies of Autonomous Vehicles and Workforce Securing Measures," that "the domestic demand for autonomous vehicle personnel will reach 11,603 by 2028, showing a high annual growth rate of 8.7%."

Professor Kim explained, "Although the demand for autonomous vehicle personnel is increasing domestically, as of last year, the shortage rate of autonomous vehicle technology personnel was 8%, which is significantly higher compared to 2.1% for eco-friendly vehicles."

He stated, "Autonomous driving requires technologies related to driving environment perception and judgment, vehicle control, mapping and positioning, human interface, communication security, autonomous cooperation, and traffic systems," adding, "To achieve this, personnel from various engineering fields such as electronics, computer science, and urban engineering must be supplemented."

Regarding workforce securing, he emphasized, "In the short term, it is necessary to foster personnel through cooperation among existing departments and to guide AI-related personnel, the main technology, into the mobility industry," and "In the long term, it is essential to establish and operate interdisciplinary departments to cultivate personnel with expandable expertise across diverse technology groups."

South Korea’s Autonomous Vehicle System Development Slower Compared to Overseas

There was also criticism that South Korea’s autonomous vehicle system development and service speed lag behind those of other countries.

Kim Moon-sik, head of the Autonomous Driving Center at the Korea Automotive Technology Institute, who presented on the topic "Trends and Challenges in Core Autonomous Vehicle Technology Development," said, "Autonomous vehicles are transforming into mobility convergence services and new industries that reproduce the value of space and time during movement, and domestic automakers and parts companies are also pursuing changes toward the mobility industry," but he diagnosed, "Compared to overseas, parts-system development and mobility service activation remain insufficient."

Director Kim pointed out, "Autonomous driving is a field that requires convergence technologies from various industries," adding, "Due to the need for multiple vehicle platforms, high-performance AI computing modules and architectures, safety control technologies, evaluation technologies to respond to complex driving scenarios, and the discovery of new service models, national-level investment is urgently needed."

Jeong Manki, chairman of KAIA, which hosted the forum, said, "In the United States and China, where regulations are relaxed and the government provides active support, big tech companies like Google and automakers such as GM, Hyundai, and Volkswagen have been developing robo-taxis and conducting pilot services since 2018," and added, "Domestically, tax incentives, workforce training, and regulatory improvements are necessary to create conditions equal to competing countries so that South Korea can lead the future autonomous vehicle industry."

Chairman Jeong particularly emphasized, "It is problematic that future vehicle core technologies such as autonomous vehicles were excluded from the national strategic technologies announced last June," and stressed, "To sustain investments by companies developing autonomous vehicle technologies amid technological uncertainties, these technologies must be included in the national strategic technologies."

He continued, "To secure AI technology, a core technology for autonomous vehicles, it is necessary to prepare measures to secure high-level personnel by utilizing foreign students in Korea," and argued, "Regulatory improvements such as expanding autonomous driving pilot zones, shifting to negative regulation for autonomous driving services, and easing regulations on the use of video information acquired from autonomous vehicles are needed."

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