670 Billion Won in Public Funds Invested, 30 Billion Won Annually for Updates
Potential for Strategic Use in Military Strikes and Drone Attacks
Junho Jung, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.
As global companies in the United States continue to demand the overseas transfer of South Korea's map data, it has been revealed that the budget invested in high-precision maps alone has reached 670 billion won over the past 30 years.
According to data submitted by Junho Jung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Gwangju Buk-gu Gap), from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the National Geographic Information Institute, the nationwide construction of 1:5,000 scale high-precision maps began in 1995, with a total of 670 billion won invested over approximately 30 years up to this year. This amount excludes the costs of aerial photography and reference point surveys, and an additional 30 billion won is spent annually solely on updating and maintenance.
Currently, only South Korea and Taiwan have established nationwide high-precision maps. Even when including countries that possess such data only for certain regions, the list is limited to a handful such as Singapore, Spain, France, and Germany. In most countries where Google Maps is available, the constructed maps remain at a scale of 1:50,000 to 1:25,000.
The 1:5,000 high-precision map has a positional accuracy within an average of 2 meters, depicting detailed topographical features such as roads, buildings, and terrain elevation. If this data is combined with Google’s unencrypted satellite imagery, domestic military and security facilities could be exposed and precise coordinates could be calculated. Due to the high potential for strategic use, such as military strikes or drone attacks, the overseas transfer of this data has been restricted.
Many analysts believe that global companies are demanding the transfer of South Korea’s high-precision maps not simply to secure map data, but as a strategic move to gain a foothold in the era of autonomous driving. High-precision maps are essential infrastructure for the commercialization of autonomous vehicles and possess immense industrial and economic value. The background to these demands includes the calculation that global companies can use the well-developed IT infrastructure of the Korean market as a testbed to secure a competitive edge.
In response, Google Korea claimed in a blog post earlier this month that the 1:5,000 map it requested from the Korean government cannot be classified as a high-precision map. When Assemblyman Jung requested a fact check on this assertion, the National Geographic Information Institute stated, "It is difficult to consider Google's claim as factual."
Assemblyman Jung emphasized, "Because high-precision map data is a valuable national resource that has required an astronomical budget over 30 years for its construction and will continue to incur significant costs for updates and maintenance, a cautious approach is necessary when considering its overseas transfer."
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