Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) held a 30th anniversary policy seminar on the themes of safety and the environment, major topics in the future automobile industry, on the 21st at the FKI Tower Conference Center in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.
The seminar was attended not only by KAIDA member companies but also by People Power Party lawmaker Lee Sang-hwi, Seo Young-tae, director of green transition policy at the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's automobile safety policy division, Pierre Millette, chief technology officer (CTO) of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), and other domestic and international figures, as well as domestic automakers and industry stakeholders, who discussed key policy items for the future automobile industry.
Til Shear, chairman of KAIDA, said in his welcome address that KAIDA has for 30 years been established as a key driving force for technological innovation and diversity in the Korean automobile market, and added that it has particularly broadened consumer choice in the Korean market in terms of diversity, promoted development and variety in advanced safety technologies, powertrains and eco-friendly vehicles, and led trend shifts.
He said that innovation is the most important keyword in the automobile market, and that KAIDA member companies aim to proactively introduce advanced technologies such as autonomous driving, connected cars and AI-based vehicle management to the Korean market, noting that especially in the areas of electrification and autonomous driving, multifaceted reviews and investments are being planned considering the Korean government's policy roadmap and that technological exchanges and institutional support for the development of advanced automotive fields will greatly contribute to taking the Korean automobile industry to the next level.
Chairman Til Shear said KAIDA supports government efforts to introduce systems harmonized with international standards, will share outcomes such as studies conducted through continuous information exchange with international organizations and overseas associations and research projects by leading domestic institutions with the government, and will devote itself to policy discussions, expressing hope that the seminar would serve as a constructive forum for discussion on the development of the automobile industry in Korea.
In the first session of the policy seminar held that day, Yoon Min-sang, managing director of Autonomous A2Z, a leading domestic autonomous driving company, gave the first presentation on the theme "The current state of autonomous vehicles and implications from overseas cases." In his keynote, he argued that the transition to an era of autonomous vehicles and securing competitiveness depends on creating an autonomous vehicle ecosystem foundation where corporate and academic research, investment and effort, and government policy support and flexible institutional operation converge and collaborate as the starting point.
Eom Seong-bok, chief research fellow at the Korea Society of Automotive Mobility and Safety, addressed "An empirical study and proposal on special procedure for safety standards for the proactive application of advanced vehicle safety devices." Commissioner Eom argued that although a special exception system is stipulated within domestic vehicle safety standards, it is true that standards for actually operating it are not clear. He emphasized that various new technologies are materializing day by day while regulations cannot be created ahead of technological development, so there is a need to prepare a swift and clear procedure to allow application for exceptions so that consumers can use new technologies whose safety is ensured in a timely manner.
Ha Seong-yong, chairman of the Korea Society of Automotive Mobility and Safety, in his presentation "Proposals for reasonable automobile safety policies to prepare for the advanced era of the future," advocated that securing future competitiveness of the automobile industry requires standard preemption, while analyzing trends in standardization of advanced vehicle devices, automobile safety assurance policies and the remedial system for manufacturing defects.
In the afternoon second session, Pierre Millette, chief technology officer (CTO) of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), attended and presented "The EU and CO2 regulations, Electrification," on regulatory trends under the EU carbon neutrality goal and the current status and challenges of vehicle electrification. He explained the EU's 2050 carbon neutrality goal and related policy trends, and considerations at industrial (such as EV deployment) and policy levels to realize them.
KAIST professor Bae Choong-sik, in his presentation "Automotive environmental policy proposals for implementing national greenhouse gas reduction targets in the transport sector," introduced domestic and international carbon neutrality and national greenhouse gas reduction target trends and presented realistic technological and policy response directions by examining policy and technology development response scenarios to achieve the targets.
In the final order, Park Kang-seok, president of Volvo Trucks Korea, gave a presentation titled "The state of eco-friendly commercial vehicle deployment in Europe and proposals to revitalize domestic deployment." Park introduced real-world operating cases of medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks in Europe and various support systems such as subsidies and tax reductions to expand deployment, and explained Volvo Trucks' activities to introduce medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks in Korea to contribute to greenhouse gas reduction and the essential conditions such as government support policies and infrastructure to revitalize deployment of large electric commercial vehicles.
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