[Initial Perspective] There Is No Free Trade Ahead of Protecting Domestic Industries

It has been a couple of months since China's BYD, the world's number one electric vehicle manufacturer, announced its entry into the Korean market. Although they pledged to "allow as many Korean consumers as possible to experience" their vehicles, BYD cars are rarely seen on the roads. This is because BYD has not yet completed the preliminary procedures for domestic sales, and it remains uncertain when sales will actually begin.

Here is the situation so far. BYD completed the certification process for launching electric vehicles last January, but failed to meet the government's subsidy eligibility criteria. Starting this year, the government decided to provide subsidies only to electric vehicles equipped with a battery charge level information (SoC) function, which the BYD Atto 3 lacks. BYD hastily submitted a plan at the end of last month to add this feature via a software update within the next year.

Although BYD plans to apply the required function later since it is currently missing, this also means the vehicle does not have the feature at present. From the government's perspective, it is difficult to provide subsidies to BYD immediately. BYD is trying to win over Korean consumers by offering a charging cost support of 300,000 KRW to customers who pre-ordered due to delivery delays, but public sentiment is growing cold.

Concerns about personal information leakage have also arisen during this process. On the 7th, the Personal Information Protection Commission began an inspection of BYD's personal data practices. Since the vehicles connect to wireless networks, there are worries that customer-entered information could be leaked. It was revealed that BYD stores collected personal data on the cloud servers of Tencent, a Chinese IT company, raising the possibility of domestic personal information being leaked to China. BYD plans to equip its vehicles with DeepSeek's artificial intelligence (AI) for autonomous driving in the future, leaving personal information security as an ongoing challenge for the company.

It is natural for the government to regulate companies to ensure they provide battery charge information to consumers and protect personal data properly. However, some interpret this as an invisible check on Chinese cars entering the domestic market for the first time. There are claims that the hurdles were set high to protect the domestic industry.

This interpretation gains credibility because countries worldwide are actively taking measures to support and protect their own automotive industries. On the 5th, the European Union (EU) unveiled its automotive sector industrial action plan, known as the 'Action Plan.' It centers on investing 1.8 billion euros (approximately 2.8 trillion KRW) to support battery manufacturers in expanding production lines. Additionally, the EU plans to ease vehicle carbon emission regulations and postpone penalty impositions for three years. Although it is a plan rather than a policy and thus not binding, it signals upcoming legislative changes.

Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the United States has openly expressed its intention to use tariffs to regain economic leadership domestically. Although it granted a one-month reprieve on automotive tariffs against Canada and Mexico, President Trump emphasized domestic production repeatedly, stating, "There will be no further extensions."

A 'war without gunfire' is underway in the automotive market, and it is clear that this front will expand. South Korea, a country that relies heavily on exports, has so far been a strong advocate of free trade. However, the current reality, where the principles of free trade are being shaken, demands a new attitude and strategy from us.