South Korea designates Gwangju as national AV test bed

South Korea has designated Gwangju Metropolitan City as the country’s first full-scale test ground for autonomous vehicles, opening the entirety of the city’s road network for trials involving some 200 self-driving cars. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has confirmed it will invest KRW 61bn (US$42m) in the initiative, with vehicle deployment expected to commence around August or September following the selection of participating companies in April.

The government will allocate test vehicles among up to three firms based on technological capabilities, with more advanced operators receiving larger fleets to conduct trials across regular roads, residential areas and rural regions around the clock. Operations will begin in the usual fashion: safety drivers present at the outset before eventually transitioning to fully driverless operations, pending government approval. Testing will initially focus on the city’s outskirts before expanding into more central areas once consistent safety is demonstrated.

Officials have acknowledged that South Korea is very much behind in the race for autonomous driving leadership, citing US and China as the de-facto leaders. Land Minister Kim Yun-duk stated: “if the U.S. and China are adults in this industry, Korea is like an elementary school student.” [Translation according to The Korea Times]

The approach taken also appears intended to mirror proven approaches in these countries, with officials drawing comparisons to similar testing programmes in San Francisco and Wuhan. It is also likely that the regulatory framework deployed will not be novel but based closely on what has already been proven successful overseas. 

Kim described the experiment as “our last chance to close the gap and become one of the world’s top players”. The initiative forms part of the administration’s economic growth strategy, positioning Gwangju and the southwestern region more broadly as a national hub for the autonomous vehicle industry.

Driving data collected from trials will be processed at the National AI Data Center in Gwangju, which will deploy 200 GPUs—a seemingly modest number—to support AI development for the participating companies. The government selected Gwangju based on several criteria, including a population exceeding one million and a mix of urban and rural environments suitable for diverse testing scenarios.

The Korea Transportation Safety Authority’s Automotive Safety Research Institute will oversee testing operations. The ministry expects major Korean automakers including Hyundai to participate in the project, which aims to generate sufficient data for the country to advance its position among the world’s top three nations in autonomous driving technology.

That the US and China are the other two leading countries is all but certain, leaving the third spot essentially up for grabs. Among the countries vying for leadership are Japan, which has embarked on a range of autonomous driving pilots and programmes with a notable focus on commercial vehicles and public transit. The UAE is also trying to establish itself as a hub for autonomous driving innovation, but relies heavily on partnerships with overseas players for local testing and deployment.