Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Selects Hwaseong City as Preferred Negotiation Partner for Autonomous Driving Test City

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority announced on the 31st that Hwaseong City in Gyeonggi Province has been selected as the preferred negotiation candidate for the autonomous driving demonstration city (autonomous driving living lab) public project.

In the autonomous driving living lab public project announced by the Ministry of Land in August, Hwaseong City applied independently, while Gyeonggi Province and Yongin City applied jointly, and the evaluation was conducted accordingly. The autonomous driving living lab is a project that integrates and demonstrates technologies and new businesses developed through the 1.1 trillion KRW-scale pan-government autonomous driving technology development new project initiated in 2021 within urban spaces.

Hwaseong City, selected as the preferred negotiation candidate, is an area where large freight transport vehicles frequently operate in industrial complexes and rural areas have weak public transportation, making it a region expected to improve public transportation accessibility through autonomous driving public services.

The Ministry of Land plans to invest a total budget of 74 billion KRW to conduct integrated demonstrations of 'Level 4' or higher autonomous driving technologies and services in Hwaseong City, including mobility support for transportation-vulnerable groups, demand-responsive mini shuttles, road maintenance, emergency dispatch, and road control. Additionally, pilot applications of autonomous driving public services through partnerships among public, private, and users will be carried out.

The Korea Transportation Safety Authority plans to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Hwaseong City within this year and begin foundational construction in June next year. The construction is scheduled to be completed in 2025, with demonstrations to be promoted until 2027.

Park Jin-ho, head of the Autonomous Driving Policy Division at the Ministry of Land, stated, "This living lab establishment project is expected to be a solid stepping stone toward achieving the policy goal of 'commercializing Level 4 autonomous driving by 2027,'" adding, "We will do our best to create a successful demonstration model for the future mobility era."

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