"Active Adoption of Negative Regulations Needed to Lead the Future Mobility Industry"

The 14th Industrial Development Forum and the 20th Automobile Industry Development Forum

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] It has been pointed out that South Korea should actively adopt negative regulation, which allows everything except acts prohibited by laws and policies, to lead the future mobility industry, and at the same time, consolidate and streamline related regulations scattered across various laws.

The Korea Industrial Alliance Forum (KIAF) and the Korea Automobile Industry Association (KAIA) held the 14th Industrial Development Forum and the 20th Automobile Industry Development Forum on the 29th at KINTEX Exhibition Hall 2 in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, where the 2021 Seoul Mobility Show is taking place, under the theme "Prospects for the Development of the Future Mobility Industry and Our Tasks."

At the forum, following a keynote presentation titled "Policy Tasks and Suggestions for the Development of the Future Mobility Industry" by Lee Jong-wook, President of the Mobility Society, a panel discussion was held moderated by Park Young-ryeol, President of the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration, with participants including Professor Heo Dae-sik of Yonsei University, Research Fellow Kim Kyu-ok of the Korea Transport Institute, Researcher Cho Min-je of the Police University Institute of Security Policy, and former Legislation Office lawyer Choi Jeong-il.

In his welcoming remarks, KIAF Chairman Jung Man-ki said, "The automobile industry is undergoing unprecedented major changes," adding, "While the industry is fiercely striving for technological innovation to survive these changes, policy authorities including the National Assembly must not only avoid frustrating these efforts but also find answers on how to support them."

There was a call to actively introduce negative regulation to advance future mobility technology. Lee Jong-wook, President of the Korea Mobility Society, stated in his presentation titled "Technological Evolution of the Mobility Industry and Structural Issues of the System," "The 4th Industrial Revolution is a competition among advanced countries based on digital technology, characterized by hyper-connectivity and hyper-intelligence across industries. Approaching it with a 'world first' strategy within an incentive system that tolerates rapid challenges and failures in technology development and commercialization can enable countries that lagged in past industrial revolutions to become leaders."

He added, "The clear regulatory framework to become a leader in fostering new businesses and revitalizing startups in the digital innovation economy is recognized as a 'negative system.' To transition to a negative system that can respond agilely to new challenges and failures, the National Assembly and legislative culture must also change," he pointed out.

Experts also emphasized the urgent need for legislation that consolidates and improves the various regulations separately stipulated by different laws related to future industries. Lawyer Choi Jeong-il stressed, "Regarding the enactment of the 'Autonomous Vehicle Special Act,' various related issues are currently regulated in a scattered manner across the Automobile Damage Compensation Guarantee Act, Civil Act, Product Liability Act, Road Traffic Act, Commercial Act, Criminal Act, and others, or are not yet regulated. These regulations stipulated in various laws need to be consolidated, supplemented, and improved." Researcher Cho Min-je of the Institute of Security Policy also noted, "Changes in laws and systems in the future mobility era must proceed in conjunction with securing interrelations with technology," adding, "I believe it is already too late if legal and institutional changes are attempted only after the technology has been developed."