The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) announced on September 25 the Third Basic Plan for Automotive Policy (2022~2026), which sets the goal of commercializing self-driving cars by 2027 and popularizing 4.5 million electric cars and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2030. The Ministry of Land and Infrastructure of Korea will hold a hearing on the planning document on the 27th to hear opinions, and based on this, the final plan for the third phase of the basic plan will be formulated, and the final plan will be finalized and announced after consultation with relevant agencies and consideration by the National Transportation Commission.
The South Korean government announced the “Mobile Innovation Roadmap” on the 17th, setting up a “three-step” plan for the popularization of self-driving, that is, to become the third country to allow L3-level (conditional automation) self-driving cars on the road after Japan and Germany by the end of the year; to realize L4-level (highly autonomous) self-driving buses and ferries by 2025 commercialization; and the launch of L4-class passenger cars by 2027.
According to the standard of SAE, self-driving cars are divided into 6 levels depending on the level of intelligence and automation, and currently, domestic car companies provide mainly L2 level (partial automation). L2 level requires a system and humans to control the car together, but L4 level can be used without human intervention in most cases.
In order to achieve this goal, the Korean government will first develop L4 level supporting safety standards and improve the insurance system. It is planned to designate and operate driverless lanes in the first half of next year, and select “mobile innovation highway” zones where various driverless services such as driverless trucks can be verified.
The Ministry of Land and Infrastructure will hold a hearing on the planning document on the 27th, based on which the final plan for the third phase of the basic plan will be formulated, and the final plan will be finalized and announced after consultation with relevant agencies and consideration by the National Transportation Commission.
