Three New Regulatory Free Zones Designated for Eco-Friendly Mobility

Promotion of Core Technology Development to Lead New Industries in Jeonnam, Gyeongbuk, and Gyeongnam

Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups is making a preliminary announcement of the main contents of the Regulatory Sandbox Committee with sign language interpretation at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 4th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheolhyun] New regulatory sandbox zones related to 'eco-friendly mobility' have been designated. These include the Jeonnam Converted Electric Vehicle Sandbox, the Gyeongbuk Next-Generation Wireless Charging for Electric Vehicles Sandbox, and the Gyeongnam Ammonia Co-Firing Fuel Propulsion System Ship Sandbox. The three newly designated sandboxes are expected to contribute to building an eco-friendly society by demonstrating core technologies of eco-friendly mobility that will lead new industries.

On the 4th, the government held the 8th Regulatory Sandbox Committee (hereafter referred to as the Sandbox Committee) chaired by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo at the Government Seoul Office and resolved accordingly. This was the first committee meeting held since the new government took office, where three new designations for the 7th round of regulatory sandboxes, plans for advancing the regulatory sandbox system, and the 2021 regulatory sandbox operation performance evaluation results were discussed.

◆Designation of Eco-Friendly Mobility Regulatory Sandboxes=First, three regulatory sandboxes were newly designated. In the Jeonnam Converted Electric Vehicle Sandbox, a demonstration project will be conducted to convert various internal combustion engine vehicles such as small and mid-sized cars into electric vehicles and establish driving safety standards considering the increased weight. Although the domestic converted electric vehicle market reaches about 56,000 units annually, the current laws lack driving safety test standards for converted electric vehicles, making market activation difficult. This demonstration project is expected to contribute to the spread of electric vehicles and carbon reduction.

In the Gyeongbuk Next-Generation Wireless Charging for Electric Vehicles Sandbox, three demonstration projects will be pursued: high-power wireless charging for electric vehicles at gas stations, wireless charging linked with wired chargers, and wireless charging for ultra-small electric vehicles. Under current laws, wireless charging facilities for electric vehicles cannot be installed at gas stations, and there are no technical standards for wireless charging facilities. Through this demonstration project, Gyeongbuk plans to develop next-generation wireless charging technology that is up to twice as fast as existing electric vehicle wireless charging speeds.

The Gyeongnam Ammonia Co-Firing Fuel Propulsion System Ship Sandbox will conduct a demonstration project to build and operate ships powered by a fuel mixture of zero-carbon eco-friendly ammonia and conventional marine diesel oil. Currently, there are no inspection standards for ammonia and marine diesel co-firing ships in Korea, making commercialization difficult. Gyeongnam aims to secure commercialization technology for the ammonia-diesel co-firing propulsion system through this demonstration project and contribute to preempting the related market. The three newly designated sandboxes are expected to achieve sales of 168 billion KRW, create 582 new jobs, and attract 32 companies by the end of their designation period in 2026.

◆Advancement of Regulatory Sandbox System=Marking three years of the regulatory sandbox system operation, a 'Regulatory Sandbox Advancement Plan' has also been prepared. First, to expand sandboxes, which have so far been planned based on local government demand, into national-level new industry sectors, a 'Demonstration Regulation Roadmap' will be established for industries with significant economic ripple effects, and a dedicated team will be formed to discover demonstration projects based on the roadmap. To reflect demand for large-scale projects such as carbon neutrality, the current two-year limit on demonstration periods will be extended up to four years depending on the project characteristics. A 'Sandbox Candidate System' will also be newly introduced to systematically support local governments in establishing sandbox plans through inter-ministerial consultations.

Additionally, to create synergy effects among sandboxes in similar fields, six sectoral councils will be formed to share pre- and post-demonstration processes, discover commercialization models, and respond to legal revisions collaboratively. Collaboration with regulatory ministries on legal revisions will also be strengthened. Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups emphasized, "We will further advance the regulatory sandbox system, which is expanding to 32 nationwide, by promptly preparing legislative amendment proposals so that related companies can demonstrate their innovative capabilities, and immediately proceed with projects that do not require amendments."

Meanwhile, the 2021 regulatory sandbox operation performance evaluation results selected four excellent sandboxes: the Gyeongbuk Next-Generation Battery Recycling Sandbox, the Busan Blockchain Sandbox, the Gyeongbuk Industrial Hemp Sandbox, and the Daegu Mobile Collaborative Robot Sandbox. Minister Lee stated, "We expect that the designation of new regulatory sandboxes and the advancement of the system will further spread the innovation achievements of regional new industries," adding, "Going forward, regulatory sandboxes with high global growth potential will be intensively fostered as global innovation sandboxes."

At the meeting, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo emphasized, "Since regulatory sandboxes have achieved clear results such as attracting 2.7 trillion KRW in investment and creating about 3,000 new jobs in new industries, companies, regions, and the government must all strive to expand creative and innovative attempts to more diverse regions and fields," and added, "I believe regulatory sandboxes will greatly contribute to creating an environment where the private sector can innovate by removing various unreasonable regulations faced by companies and unleashing creativity and passion."

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