[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] Starting in 2027, a pan-government technology development project for the commercialization of autonomous driving at 'Level 4' or higher will be actively promoted.
The Autonomous Driving Technology Development Innovation Project Group announced on the 27th that it has selected 53 detailed tasks related to the commercialization of Level 4+ autonomous vehicles and will invest 85.04 billion KRW of government budget this year to develop the technology.
The four ministries?Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the National Police Agency?have launched a Level 4+ autonomous driving technology development innovation project worth a total of 1.0974 trillion KRW starting this year, aiming for the commercialization of converged Level 4+ autonomous driving by 2027. Level 4 autonomous driving means the vehicle can recognize and judge situations on its own, making driver intervention unnecessary even in emergencies. Converged Level 4+ means innovating not only autonomous driving technology but also infrastructure and social services to Level 4 or higher.
The 53 detailed tasks selected this year involve a total of 3,474 researchers from 373 autonomous driving-related organizations, including 1,524 with master's or doctoral degrees.
By ministry, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is pursuing 16 detailed tasks including the development of autonomous vehicle parts. A total of 104 organizations such as Hyundai Mobis, Mando, Seoul Robotics, Korea Automotive Technology Institute, Korea Standards Association, and KAIST participate with 799 researchers (341 with master's or doctoral degrees).
The Ministry of Science and ICT is undertaking 15 detailed tasks including data collection and processing automation technology, vehicle communication and security, and cloud-edge linked autonomous driving artificial intelligence (AI) software (SW) development. A total of 92 organizations including KT, Morai, Stris, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, and Seoul National University participate with 903 researchers (316 with master's or doctoral degrees).
In the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport project, a total of 103 organizations such as Hyundai Motor Company, SK Telecom, Kakao Mobility, Autonomous A2Z, Korea Transportation Safety Authority, Korea Transport Institute, and Yonsei University participate with 1,085 researchers (540 with master's or doctoral degrees), leading road-traffic technology, dynamic mapping, and mobility service demonstrations.
For the National Police Agency project, a total of 74 organizations including LG Uplus, Naver Systems, ChargeIn, Road Traffic Authority, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, and Hanyang University participate with 687 researchers (327 with master's or doctoral degrees), reviewing road traffic laws and regulations, pre-verification of autonomous vehicle driving capabilities, and developing operation support systems.
Project leader Choi Jinwoo said, "We plan to establish specific linkage and cooperation plans among detailed tasks without boundaries between ministries," adding, "The project group will act as a comprehensive mediator to ensure the project's success."
The project group plans to visit seven domestic autonomous driving pilot zones (Seoul Sangam, Gyeonggi Pangyo, Chungbuk, Sejong, Gwangju, Daegu, Jeju) and completed vehicle manufacturers to discuss cooperation plans for developing Level 4+ autonomous driving technology.
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