[Asia Exclusive] "The Approaching Era of Autonomous Driving... Time to Consider Institutional Foundations Like Insurance"

World's First Safety Standards Established for Level 3 Autonomous Driving
Complex Liability and Insurance Systems Being Organized
Institutional Support for Urban Air Mobility like Drone Taxis

Kwon Byung-yoon, Chairman of the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, is being interviewed on the 25th at the Korea Transportation Safety Authority conference room in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Interview = Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho, Summary = Reporter Moon Je-won] "The era of autonomous vehicles will begin as early as 2030. Ahead of the autonomous vehicle era that will bring new changes, not only the government but also the automotive and insurance industries must prepare in advance. The Korea Transportation Safety Authority will play a role in coordinating the complex relationships among stakeholders."

At the world's largest electronics exhibition, 'CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2020,' held earlier this year in Las Vegas, USA, autonomous vehicles attracted as much attention as advanced home appliances. Kwon Byung-yoon, Chairman of the Korea Transportation Safety Authority who attended the event, has since been actively preparing for the autonomous vehicle era. This is because he recognized that, alongside the convenience brought by technology commercialization, there is a high possibility of controversies surrounding safety, liability, and automobile insurance in the event of accidents.

Chairman Kwon said, "At CES, where global ICT companies such as Google and Apple as well as global automakers participate, autonomous vehicles were undoubtedly the biggest topic and issue," adding, "Since countries like the US and Europe are already opening the era of Level 4 autonomous vehicles ahead of us, we felt the need to quickly establish related technologies, institutional measures, and safety systems." Level 4 refers to conditional full autonomy where driving is possible without a driver under specified conditions.

Chairman Kwon emphasized that the Authority's role ahead of the autonomous vehicle era is to establish safety standards so that autonomous vehicles can operate stably in the future and to create various systems and foundations to clarify liability in case of accidents. Earlier this year, the Authority also established safety standards for Level 3 partial autonomous vehicles for the first time in the world, laying the groundwork for commercialization of autonomous driving.

Chairman Kwon said, "We are supporting private sector safety technology development by utilizing the autonomous vehicle test city 'K-City' and improving it to enable demonstration projects for various autonomous driving-based services," adding, "We have formed an 'Accident Investigation Committee' to resolve issues that may arise in autonomous vehicle accidents and are preparing automobile cybersecurity guidelines to counter cyber hacking."

On the 25th, we met Chairman Kwon at the Authority's conference room located in Yangjae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, to hear about the current state and future of Korea's transportation industry.

-Global interest in autonomous vehicles is intense. How is Korea's technological capability?

▲In January this year, I visited 'CES 2020' held in Las Vegas, USA, and experienced some of the world's leading autonomous vehicles. Advanced countries have already implemented high-level technology to operate autonomous vehicles on public roads. Although we are a latecomer with some shortcomings such as testing autonomous driving on real roads, industry, academia, research institutes, and government are making comprehensive efforts through a unified roadmap aiming for commercialization of conditional autonomous driving (Level 3) on highways.

-What efforts is the Authority making to prepare for the autonomous vehicle era?

▲When private companies develop technology, the Authority must certify how safe that technology is. The Authority is supporting safety technology development by opening the autonomous vehicle test city 'K-City' free of charge to the private sector. Various tests are conducted there to see how to respond to abnormal weather or communication blind spots. In the future, we plan to create an environment for shared data use to encourage AI technology development by private startups.

-Autonomous vehicles are completely different from conventional cars in terms of technology and systems. Liability and insurance could become issues in case of accidents.

▲Autonomous vehicles also need insurance, so new insurance systems and liability issues must be considered. For example, in Level 5, where fully autonomous driving without a driver is possible, if an accident occurs during operation, the insurance company and manufacturer are 100% responsible because there is no steering wheel. However, there is also the possibility that passengers intentionally cause mechanical malfunctions inside the vehicle. In such cases, it is necessary to investigate whether the accident was due to mechanical defects or intentional acts. Insurance issues will be most complicated at Level 3, where partial autonomous driving is possible. Level 3 allows autonomous driving only on highways or other motor vehicle-only roads, and if obstacles appear making autonomous driving impossible, the driver must take over. When control is handed back to the driver during autonomous driving and an accident occurs, handling insurance can be complex. The Authority is currently preparing related insurance regulations for autonomous vehicle accidents.

-An Accident Investigation Committee has been established at the Authority. It seems a lot of preparation is needed to categorize autonomous vehicle accidents by situation.

▲Yes. We plan to involve many experts in the Accident Investigation Committee. In the autonomous vehicle era, investigations like the current 20:80 or 30:70 liability splits will be meaningless. If an accident is found to be due to mechanical defects, the vehicle will be subject to recall, which also greatly affects other vehicles. The role of the Accident Investigation Committee will become increasingly important. Initially, it will take a lot of time, but accumulating data and categorizing accident types will be necessary.

-The government announced plans to commercialize drone taxis within five years. Since the drone taxi era will open before autonomous vehicles, what role will the Authority play?

▲The drone era will likely come before autonomous vehicles. While cars, trains, and subways move on land and are two-dimensional transportation modes, drones operate in three dimensions. Since urban areas are densely populated, two-dimensional transportation modes have limitations in solving problems like traffic congestion. Air transportation has economic advantages and high potential for industrial development. The government has announced commercialization of drone taxis by 2025, which is quite feasible. This will bring a revolution in new transportation modes and have a huge impact on urban development and housing. For drone commercialization, technology development, related regulation adjustments, securing connectivity with other transportation modes, and infrastructure development are necessary. The Authority will play a certain role in this process.

-Public opinion is divided over the 'Minsik Law,' which strengthens penalties for traffic accidents in school zones. What is your view on this law?

▲I naturally support it. On the road, there are mainly drivers and pedestrians. The vulnerable are pedestrians, and among them, children are very vulnerable. The Minsik Law was created to specially protect these vulnerable groups in school zones. Drivers also become pedestrians when they get out of their cars, and their children may attend school. This is not someone else's problem. The Minsik Law is an inevitable measure to advance our traffic culture. Although some say the Minsik Law is excessive, advanced countries have already implemented such measures. We are actually quite late in adopting them.

-Interest in quarantine and safety has increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. How will the Authority's work change in the post-COVID era?

▲In the post-COVID era, non-face-to-face culture will be established. The Authority's work must change accordingly. Many traffic safety-related tasks involve face-to-face interactions, such as educating transportation workers, inspections, and safe driving campaigns, all of which require direct meetings. We plan to shift these tasks online in the future. This year, the Authority introduced an appointment system for vehicle inspections for the first time. Previously, there was much contact at the inspection site, but now, simply applying online greatly reduces contact.