200 Autonomous Vehicles to Hit Downtown Gwangju... Launching ‘Korean-Style AI Driving’ Experiment

Gwangju Designated as Citywide Pilot Zone; Hyundai Motor, A2Z, and RideFlux Join Project

AI Data Learning at National Center... Goal of Level 4 Fully Autonomous Driving by 2027

The entire downtown area of Gwangju is set to become a laboratory for autonomous vehicles. As 200 self-driving cars travel through alleyways, intersections, underpasses, and overpasses across the city, they will collect data that artificial intelligence (AI) will use for learning. The government, local authorities, and private companies have agreed to accelerate the development of Korean-style autonomous driving technology, with Gwangju serving as a central hub.

According to Gwangju City and other sources on May 13, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held a "Korea Autonomous Driving Team" business agreement ceremony at the Kim Daejung Convention Center. This official launch event follows last month's designation of all of Gwangju as a pilot zone for autonomous vehicles and the recent completion of the selection process for companies participating in the demonstration project.

Signatories to the agreement included the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Gwangju City, Hyundai Motor Company, Autonomous A2Z, RideFlux, Korea Transportation Safety Authority, and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance. They agreed to cooperate throughout the entire project, including autonomous driving demonstrations, data accumulation, safety management, and the establishment of insurance systems.

At the event, Hyundai Motor Company unveiled its dedicated software-defined vehicle (SDV) for autonomous driving for the first time. Based on the IONIQ 5 electric vehicle, the car comes equipped with 360-degree cameras and radars on all sides as standard, and is designed to accommodate additional sensors such as LiDAR. Real-time communication is possible between the vehicle and the operating company, and the driving, steering, and braking functions can each be independently controlled. The price per vehicle exceeds 200 million won.

Hyundai Motor Company, Autonomous A2Z, and RideFlux will begin receiving the vehicles and start demonstration tests as early as next month, with a total of 200 vehicles involved. Each company will apply its own sensors and software, conduct safety validation, and then commence operations. Data collected during the test runs will be shared. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport explained that the speed of data accumulation and AI learning is directly linked to the competitiveness of autonomous driving technology.

The demonstration will proceed in stages. In Stage 1, a test driver will remain in the driver’s seat while the vehicle operates autonomously throughout the entire route to verify technical safety. In Stage 2, the test driver moves to the passenger seat to test unmanned operation and remote control systems. In the final Stage 3, fully unmanned, control center-based transportation services will be implemented to verify the potential for commercialization.

The government plans to advance technology by using data accumulated from repeated test drives for learning at the Gwangju National AI Data Center. The center’s 200 GPUs will also be used to support virtual environment-based driving scenario verification.

A large number of staff will be deployed. Over 500 personnel, including 400 test drivers and additional staff for control, emergency response, and vehicle management, will participate. The participating organizations and companies have agreed to prioritize hiring local talent.

Gwangju City is also pushing forward a regulatory sandbox to resolve regulations related to AI learning using raw video data, demonstration in school zones, and remote control systems. The city will also support essential infrastructure such as depots and charging facilities.

A system for accident response will also be established. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance is developing a dedicated insurance product that integrates automobile insurance with liability for manufacturing, control, and cybersecurity. In the event of an accident, initial compensation will be provided to victims, after which liability will be apportioned based on the cause of the incident.

Through this project, the government aims to commercialize Level 4 autonomous driving—capable of responding to unexpected situations without driver intervention—by 2027.

Gwangju Mayor Kang Gijeong stated, "For the past 40 years, Gwangju has flourished as a city of democracy. Now, it will be recognized as Korea’s city of the future. With two complete vehicle manufacturing plants, Kia and GGM, Gwangju is poised to make history once again. We will marshal all our resources to complete the AI and mobility industries, starting with the autonomous driving demonstration."