Regulatory Reform Led by President Accelerates Autonomous Driving Startups

The business of domestic autonomous mobility startups is set to accelerate. This comes as regulatory rationalization measures for the sector were announced at the first Core Regulatory Rationalization Strategy Meeting, presided over by President Lee Jaemyung on September 15. Until now, there have been many difficulties due to regulations in areas essential to business operations, such as the use of video data and pilot operations. If these new measures are implemented, some of these challenges are expected to be alleviated.

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According to the government and related industries on September 17, a plan to enhance the competitiveness of the autonomous driving industry, focusing on regulatory rationalization, is scheduled to be announced in October. The plan includes expanding pilot zones to the city level and enabling local governments to swiftly designate pilot operation districts at their own discretion. Currently, autonomous vehicles are being tested in 47 pilot operation districts, but there are concerns that, compared to leading countries like the United States and China, limitations in terms of region, operation, and administrative procedures are hindering the collection of sufficient demonstration data.

Additionally, to allow the use of original video data for autonomous driving learning purposes, the government plans to introduce special provisions regarding the use of original video data into related laws, such as the Personal Information Protection Act and the Autonomous Vehicles Act, within this year. Previously, video data was required to be de-identified, which increased the likelihood of errors in artificial intelligence (AI), as well as imposed time and cost burdens.

At the Busan Osiria Station stop, the autonomous bus "Big Eye" is waiting to depart. Rideflux

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If these regulatory rationalization measures are implemented, related startups are expected to significantly reduce the time and costs spent responding to regulations. Rideflux and Autonomous A2G, both of which attended the recent meeting, are prime examples. For Rideflux, this will enable faster progress in its ongoing autonomous public transportation bus service. If the scope of autonomous driving permits shifts from route-based to city-based, administrative procedures will be greatly simplified, providing a major boost to service expansion, according to the company. Currently, companies must draw up detailed operation plans by route or district, apply to local governments for designation as autonomous driving pilot operation districts, and then obtain approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. This administrative approval process has taken several months, and expanding demonstration areas required repeating similar procedures for each new route or district.

The company explained that switching to a city-based system would eliminate much of this unnecessary time consumption. Rideflux plans to expand its autonomous public transportation bus service nationwide, including in the Seoul metropolitan area and major regional cities, within this year. Park Junghui, CEO of Rideflux, stated, "We will continue to drive innovation in urban transportation through safe and reliable autonomous mobility services."

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Autonomous A2G, which has entered global markets such as Singapore, the UAE, and Japan based on its domestic demonstrations and experience, also sees deregulation as enabling business expansion for related startups. If demonstration zones are expanded and government-driven demand for autonomous vehicles increases the number of vehicles in operation, the current route-based autonomous shuttle services could evolve into broader 'robotaxi' (autonomous taxi) services.

Currently, in the United States, competition is intensifying as companies such as Tesla, Waymo (a subsidiary of Google), and Zoox (a subsidiary of Amazon) launch robotaxi operations. Han Jihyung, CEO of Autonomous A2G, commented, "The main reasons we cannot yet transition to robotaxis like in the United States are the enormous costs of map building and autonomous vehicle production. However, if the number of operational areas and buyers increases, there is no reason why Korean technology cannot achieve robotaxi services."

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