Going forward, small liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) self-service stations can be installed in rural and remote island and mountain regions. In addition, charging electric vehicles using solar power and energy storage systems (ESS) at regular gas stations is set to become possible.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said on the 29th that it held the 4th Industrial Convergence Regulatory Sandbox Review Committee of 2025 and reviewed and approved 32 regulatory sandbox exemptions in areas including public livelihoods and energy. The regulatory sandbox is a system that defers or exempts current regulations to allow new products and services using new technologies to be tested and verified under certain conditions (limits on period, location, and scale) or to be released to market first.
The biggest beneficiaries of this exemption approval are residents of rural and remote island and mountain regions. Under the current Liquefied Petroleum Gas Act, the minimum storage capacity of LPG filling stations is limited to 15 tons or more, making it virtually impossible to install large stations in rural areas with small populations and insufficient demand.
With approval of the Korea LPG Association's proposed "LPG small self-service station demonstration," it will become possible to install package-type filling facilities using small storage tanks of less than 3 tons. The committee approved the exemption on the condition that a safety management plan is established and a committee of expert safety managers is formed.
The transition of gas stations into complex energy stations is also becoming reality. The committee approved a demonstration of "electric vehicle charging services using solar power generation and energy storage systems (ESS) within gas stations," proposed by Pion Electric, a corporation specializing in power system stabilization. This will allow electricity generated from solar power at gas stations to be stored and then used to charge electric vehicles.
The current Hazardous Materials Safety Management Act had prohibited installing ESS within gas stations due to fire risk, but an exemption was approved on the condition that an ESS based on vanadium ion batteries, which have a low fire risk, is used.
In addition, a variety of eco-friendly technologies have gained market entry opportunities. LG Electronics' commercial carbon dioxide (CO₂) washing machine was converted to a temporary permit that allows formal market sales. The product uses recycled carbon dioxide as a washing agent instead of synthetic detergents or dry-cleaning solvents, enabling washing without wastewater or exhaust gas. New-technology and service exemptions were also approved for pet-friendly restaurants and shared hair salon services.