Self-driving passenger car to be piloted for first time in Korea

[Photo by Yonhap]

South Korea will see a fully unmanned autonomous passenger car operate on the roads for the first time as early as October 2024.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on Wednesday that it has decided to grant a temporary operation permit for the country’s first driverless passenger car developed by a local autonomous driving startup.

The vehicle is a Genesis GV80 sports utility vehicle (SUV) equipped with an autonomous driving system and LiDAR sensors. It can travel at a maximum speed of 50 kilometers per hour (km/h).

During the demonstration period, it will travel a 3.2 km loop in the autonomous driving demonstration zone in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, western Seoul.

Its operating hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 7 a.m., excluding peak traffic hours.

The demonstration vehicle is equipped with safety features including emergency automatic braking and emergency stop buttons both inside and outside. It also met the safety requirements for unmanned autonomous driving in urban areas at K-City, an autonomous driving test city in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.

The land ministry said that a phased verification procedure will be introduced within the autonomous driving area for more thorough safety management.

The first phase involves two months of test autonomous driving with a test driver in the driver‘s seat, while the second phase involves two months with the test driver in the passenger seat, but with emergency remote control and management personnel outside the vehicle.

This is the first time a permit has been granted for autonomous driving on public roads without a test driver in the driver’s seat.

Until now, autonomous vehicles with temporary operation permits had either a test driver in the driver’s seat or a maximum speed limit of less than 10 km/h.

The ministry also plans to upgrade its detailed standards for temporary operation permits for unmanned autonomous vehicles within the year in anticipation of increased demand for demonstration from companies.

“Since 2016, a total of 437 autonomous vehicles have obtained temporary operation permits to demonstrate their technology and services,” said Park Jin-ho, head of the ministry’s Autonomous Driving Policy Division. “We will actively strive to harmoniously achieve the two goals of creating a free environment for unmanned autonomous driving demonstrations and ensuring public safety.”