Where are Autonomous Vehicles in Korea?
Autonomous driving technology has received a lot of attention in 2015 and 2016, with automobile manufacturers and tech startups jumping into the technology. At the time, many people mentioned that they would be able to ride in autonomous vehicles around 2021 or 2022. However, until now (2024), it is not easy to see fully autonomous vehicles on the road. Fortunately, people are experiencing it indirectly because Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are installed in cars being sold. Of course, there is company that introduce ADAS technology as autonomous driving technology, so many people think that they are using autonomous driving technology. Clearly, ADAS and AD (Autonomous Driving) are different things.
So why is the technology anticipated by early autonomous driving technology developers still under development? The reasons may vary. There are a lack of technical completeness, lack of institutional foundation, and lack of people’s awareness. However, over the past time, many companies have steadily developed and invested in technology to complete fully autonomous driving technology. Additionally, national-level support was provided to build a future mobility ecosystem. And currently, leading companies in the United States and China are operating driverless autonomous vehicles on the roads. As the operation of driverless autonomous vehicles increases, companies expect that people’s awareness would gradually improve.
However, unlike the United States and China, which have been developing technology based on large investments from the beginning, other countries have not received sufficient interest and investment. The case of Korea was similar. Of course, since Korea have global automobile manufacturing companies, interest in autonomous driving technology has been high from the beginning. There was just a lot of interest. Full-scale investment did not proceed. But the Korean government has found a way to make its interest more realistic. And first, in order to establish the legal foundation necessary for the development of autonomous driving technology, the “Act on the Promotion of and Support for Commercialization of Autonomous Vehicles” was enacted in 2019. And it came into effect in 2020.
The bill allows Korea to designate an “autonomous vehicle pilot operation zone (AV POZ)” where testing can be conducted to commercialize autonomous vehicles. As the bill went into effect, companies developing autonomous driving technology and cities interested in autonomous driving technology applied for AV POZs and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport(MOLIT) designated them. In other words, the easiest place to find autonomous vehicles in Korea is AV POZ. Of course, places where autonomous vehicles can be seen include testing spaces at individual companies and research spaces at universities. Currently, in Korea, autonomous vehicles can be tested officially in any road of the country. However, this is possible only with permission.
In this article, I would like to introduce areas where autonomous vehicles can currently be found in Korea, focusing on AV POZ. I organized related information based on the Google Map. The data was compiled from information on companies operating autonomous vehicles in individual regions based on official documents released by the MOLIT. I also referenced news from various media.
Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Operation Zone (AV POZ)
To date (2024/03), AV POZ has been released 6 times:
1st — 2020/11/23
2nd — 2021/04/26
3rd — 2022/06/23
4th — 2022/11/29
5th — 2023/06/27
6th — 2023/11/29
The AV POZ, which was released 6 times, was either newly added or existing areas were expended. And currently, a total of 34 zones are designated nationwide. AV POZs are designated for various purposes, such as closed routes, roads cross local province, and roads for special purposes. Additionally, depending on the individual AV POZ, autonomous vehicles are being tested for various purposes such as robotaxi, delivery, shuttle, bus, and special purpose vehicles.
For reference, the points marked on Google Map were selected as specific point included in the Zone. And the operation route of individual AV POZ is attached in the picture. However, the information in the picture was displayed in Korean. So, I summarize the route information separately as text in the Description.
The below is the Google Map information included in AV POZ:
- Region: Operating area
- Title: AV POZ official name
- Address: Representative point of AV POZ
- Organization: Implementing agency
- Company/Dev: Development and operation companies
- OP: Driving method (Safety Driver, Driverless, Unmanned)
- Status: Current operating method
- NOV (No of Vehicle): Number of vehicles permitted to operate
- Description: Route and distance to operating area
- Website: Related website
- Media: Reference media
Here is the Map(V2403).
To do Next…
As mentioned earlier, there are various places in Korea where autonomous vehicles are being tested. In this article, I only introduced AV POZ. However, companies and universities also have their own testing spaces. Currently, robotaxi, bus, and shuttle are being introduced a lot. However, interest in actual delivery robots and patrol robots is also increasing. With the recent passage of related legislation, the pace is accelerating. Several companies are also introducing autonomous ships and autonomous agricultural machinery. In the future, I would like to introduce related companies as a separate layer. Of course, I have a plan to update when AV POZ is released further.
※ If there is anything wrong with the information introduced or needs to be corrected, please contact me and I will make corrections after reviewing the contents.
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References
“Act on the Promotion of and Support for Commercialization of Autonomous Vehicles” (English)
