As the United States and China vie for dominance in the autonomous vehicle industry, concerns are growing that South Korea’s competitiveness in the global market may lag due to its conservative regulations and resource gaps in funding and manpower.
According to industry sources on Jan. 21, the second Trump administration is expected to ease regulations on autonomous vehicles. This could include expanding the annual deployment limits for self-driving cars by automakers and removing requirements for reporting traffic accidents. In the U.S., over 30 states have already legalized autonomous vehicle testing and commercial operations through legislation or executive orders. Nevada became the first state globally to legalize self-driving cars in 2011, followed by California, Michigan, and Arizona. In some regions, limited operations of unmanned robotaxis and autonomous truck convoys are also permitted.
The Chinese government is providing substantial financial support and relaxing regulations to help nine companies, including BYD and SAIC Motor, conduct Level 3 and 4 autonomous driving trials. As China intensifies its push to develop the autonomous driving industry, the U.S. is responding by easing its regulations to counter the rise of Chinese companies.
In contrast, South Korea maintains tighter regulations and significantly trails behind the U.S. and China in investment and workforce size. Testing autonomous vehicles on actual Korean roads is restricted to 42 government-designated areas with fixed routes ranging from 1.8 to 69.8 kilometers. Only about 400 self-driving vehicles operate nationwide, mostly buses and trucks following set routes.
“Korean companies can’t match the funding and workforce scale of overseas firms,” said Chang Sung-wook, Vice President of Kakao Mobility. “While Korea operates a multi-ministry project worth about 1 trillion won from 2021 to 2027, companies in the U.S. and China spend several trillion won annually.”
Foreign autonomous driving companies are exploring entry into the Korean market, including U.S.-based Uber and Chinese companies Pony AI and Apollo Go. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who visited Korea last year, expressed strong interest in collaborating with Korean companies on new businesses, including autonomous driving and EVs.
Chang noted that the entry of foreign autonomous driving companies into Korea “is just a matter of time,” likely arriving with existing collaboration partners. He added that current laws offer insufficient protection for domestic companies against foreign competition.
The South Korean government plans to develop a multi-ministry integrated technology roadmap for autonomous driving in the first half of this year, targeting Level 4 autonomous driving commercialization by 2027. It also aims to develop a next-generation automotive platform integrating autonomous driving and vehicle control functions by 2026. Autonomous driving capabilities are classified into six levels, from 0 to 5, with Level 4 representing highly automated driving, where driver intervention is only needed in emergencies.
