Jinwook Jung: "Domestic Companies Undervalued Despite Autonomous Driving Technology"

"Government Must Play a Role Through Policy Finance and Strategic Funds"
"Gwangju Is the Optimal Location for Building Autonomous Driving Infrastructure"

Jinwook Jung, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

Despite South Korea's autonomous driving technology being at a world-class level, there are concerns that domestic companies are being significantly undervalued.

Jinwook Jung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Gwangju Dongnam-gap), highlighted the gap between the potential and the reality of the domestic autonomous driving industry during the comprehensive audit of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on October 24, urging the government to establish more proactive support measures.

Assemblyman Jung stated, "Korea's autonomous driving technology ranks 11th in the world, but while overseas companies with similar technological capabilities are valued at between 5 trillion and 10 trillion won, domestic companies remain at around 300 billion won."

According to the global consulting firm Guidehouse Insights, Autonomous A2G ranked 11th in the world, ahead of Tesla, indicating that Korea's technological capabilities are already only two to three years behind the global leaders-a gap the industry believes can be overcome.

Assemblyman Jung emphasized that policy financial institutions such as the Korea Development Bank should take the lead in investing to realize the true value of undervalued domestic autonomous driving companies. He also stressed that the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy should create and operate a strategic investment fund for companies that possess core national technologies, and that the approval process for overseas investment in regulatory sandbox companies should be simplified to encourage investment.

Jung further suggested that if major domestic conglomerates with commercialization infrastructure-such as Hyundai Motor, the three major telecommunications companies, and large construction firms-establish structural collaboration systems with startups for joint R&D, joint proof of concept (PoC), and joint procurement, it would be possible to significantly narrow the gap with the United States and China by enabling mass production.

He also proposed adding a clause to future FTAs or Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA, RCEP, etc.) similar to the mutual recognition provision for U.S.-made automobiles included in the Korea-U.S. FTA. This would allow autonomous vehicles certified by the Korean government to be exported under mutual recognition up to a certain number of units. There are expectations that this could accelerate the entry of Korea's autonomous driving industry into overseas markets.

Jung particularly emphasized that Gwangju is currently pursuing designation as a national pilot city for AI mobility and has sufficient potential to serve as a hub for the commercialization of autonomous driving. He highlighted the urgent need to build dedicated infrastructure for autonomous vehicle storage, charging, and maintenance, and suggested that establishing dedicated maintenance hubs for autonomous vehicles in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions would greatly contribute to building a regionally distributed industrial ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Jung called on the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy and the head of trade negotiations to "consider introducing a mutual recognition clause for autonomous vehicles in future trade negotiations" and to "discuss measures to realize the value of companies with core national technologies through inter-ministerial consultations." He also urged, "Since the autonomous driving industry is the core of future mobility competitiveness and a matter of national technological sovereignty, the government must provide institutional support for the entire industrial ecosystem."