On the 15th, it was learned that the government is considering introducing "conditional approval" in preparation for a full-fledged entry of Chinese self-driving cars into Korea. Chinese self-driving cars are already in the demonstration phase on Korean roads to verify driving data and safety. The government's review of conditional approval appears to take into account the reality that Korea's Autonomous Driving technology competitiveness is low.
According to a compilation of ChosunBiz reporting, the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources submitted a "cross-ministry overseas trip results report to strengthen competitiveness in the Autonomous Driving industry," centered on these points. The report summarizes visits on Mar. 18–20 to Chinese Autonomous Driving corporations Baidu, Pony AI, and the Beijing autonomous-driving pilot zone operations center.
The government believes that with Chinese self-driving technology ahead of Korea's, there is a risk of losing the market if Chinese corporations make a full-fledged entry into the country. In demonstration experience, Baidu has 300 million km and Pony AI has 70 million km, while the total for the Korean industry is only 13 million km. The government delegation actually rode in Chinese driverless Autonomous Driving cars and evaluated them by saying, "Bold lane changes and overtaking were possible, and there were no dangerous situations even in congested alleyways," and that they were "at a level viable for commercialization."
Chinese Autonomous Driving firms have already entered the Korean market. After Pony AI invested equity in the 2024 KOSDAQ-listed GemVax & KAEL subsidiary Gembax Link and changed the company name to "PonyLink," it added Autonomous Driving to its business purpose. It obtained a temporary operation permit in Dec. last year and is conducting demonstrations with 10 self-driving cars in areas including Gangnam, Seoul, and Pangyo, Gyeonggi. Baidu is also said to be reviewing relevant systems with the goal of entering Korea.
However, the government has not yet set specific requirements for conditional approval of Chinese self-driving cars.