[KR-US-China Robotaxi War] ⑨ Director Sungjin Kim: "Regulatory Rationalization Directly Cuts Operating Costs... Easing Burdens for Autonomous Driving Companies"

Interview with Director of Gwangju Future Mobility Promotion Agency
"Strength Lies in Real Urban Traffic Conditions, Not Limited Environments"
"Insufficient Budget to Be Addressed Through Support and Regulatory Easing"

Editor's NoteDriverless taxis, or "robotaxis," have emerged as a core element of future mobility. The race is no longer just about technological competition; it has become a "data supremacy war" to see who can accumulate more driving data and generate tangible revenue. China, backed by bold government support, is rapidly amassing large-scale data, while the United States is forging ahead with unrivaled AI technology. In contrast, Korea, despite its world-class manufacturing capabilities, is struggling to accelerate commercialization due to various regulations and a lack of institutional frameworks. The Asia Business Daily takes an in-depth look at the current state of autonomous driving in China’s Beijing, the United States’ Las Vegas, the data strategies of Chinese and American big tech companies, and the status of Korea’s autonomous driving sector. Through this three-part special series, we examine the global robotaxi battleground and search for survival strategies for our industry.

Sungjin Kim, Director of Gwangju Future Mobility Promotion Institute. Gwangju Future Mobility Promotion Institute

While Korea is often considered to be lagging behind the United States and China in the commercialization race for autonomous driving technology, the country is accelerating technology validation and regulatory improvements through large-scale pilot programs at the city level. With Gwangju Metropolitan City designating the entire city as an autonomous driving testbed and launching a large-scale demonstration project, there is also growing discussion about the need to ease regulations to reduce burdens on operating companies. Requirements such as safety personnel deployment standards and temporary operation permits create financial burdens for operators, prompting calls for regulatory rationalization to help reduce operating costs.

On March 18, Sungjin Kim, Director of Gwangju Future Mobility Promotion Agency, explained the significance of this pilot city designation in a written interview with The Asia Business Daily. He stated, "The foundation has now been laid to enhance the technological completeness of autonomous driving in real urban traffic conditions." He added, "If we can link the results of these pilots to actual services and regulatory frameworks, it will help accelerate the timeline for commercialization of autonomous driving."

Director Kim further explained, "By piloting a variety of operational scenarios, such as robo-shuttles and hospital-linked services, not only vehicle manufacturers but also operators in control, platform, and insurance sectors will have new market entry opportunities across related industries."

Regarding Gwangju’s unique advantages, he highlighted, "Our biggest differentiator is the AI infrastructure that enables immediate connection between pilot data and advanced learning and validation. Gwangju is not just a simple test location, but an AI-based industrial testbed that supports the entire autonomous driving technology development process."

He continued, "Gwangju already has secured GPU computing resources through national AI data centers, enabling data collected from real roads to be used immediately for learning and validation within the region. Ultimately, Gwangju’s competitiveness lies in being a city equipped with a full-stack AI infrastructure that supports the entire cycle from pilot projects to learning, validation, and commercialization."

Addressing concerns that most of the 61 billion won budget for this pilot project is allocated to purchasing autonomous vehicles and building infrastructure—potentially leaving insufficient funds for operators—he responded, "The current structure is heavily skewed toward vehicle and infrastructure investment, so direct support for operator expenses is inadequate. Therefore, it is necessary to supplement this by applying a separate operator-oriented support program in Gwangju."

He also suggested that easing regulations can help reduce the burden on operators. "Institutional costs, such as safety personnel deployment standards, temporary operation permits, and the permitted scope of service, are as much of a burden as direct subsidies," he explained. "This pilot city initiative includes regulatory rationalization, and simply easing related regulations will, in effect, reduce operating expenses."

He further emphasized, "Opening up GPU resources and simulation environments at the national AI data center to small businesses can indirectly alleviate their burden by reducing the cost of building their own infrastructure."

Director Kim also expressed a commitment to finding ways for coexistence in response to concerns that the introduction of unmanned robotaxi or shuttle services in Gwangju might cause conflict with the existing local transportation industry. He said, "Autonomous driving services should be designed not to directly replace existing taxis and buses, but to supplement areas where current transportation services are insufficient—such as transportation-vulnerable regions and during late-night or low-demand periods."

Finally, Director Kim expressed his goal of further accelerating the commercialization of Level 4 autonomous driving technology by 2035 through this pilot project. He said, "The Gwangju pilot project is significant because it combines large-scale city-level demonstrations, AI learning support, and regulatory improvements to move up the timeline for autonomous driving commercialization. However, the real determinant of commercialization speed is not the pilot itself, but rather whether we can connect these pilots to actual service operation and regulatory improvements."

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