Google fails to offer proper mapping service in Korea
This Oct. 20, 2015, file photo, shows a sign outside Google headquarters in Mountain View in Calif. Google has been at odds with the Korean government over exporting map data sensitive to the country’s national security to the company’s overseas data centers. / AP-Yonhap
By Yoon Sung-won
Google has been unable to get its mapping service Google Maps running properly in Korea for the last six years.
It has blamed the country’s outdated National Security Act for restricting its access to certain map information, which is essential for features such as navigation, high-resolution satellite images and public transportation information, which it needs to store in its overseas data centers.
The company has requested nationwide geographic data from the government, not agreeing to blur locations such as military facilities and Cheong Wa Dae, which the government considers critical for national security not only in Korea but also for its global services.
However, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) made it clear that it is not refusing to provide the geographic information to Google.
“We do not intend to refuse to provide the map data. It is not true that we are adopting a closed-door policy,” said Koh Young-jin, an official at the ministry, Wednesday. “Google has asked for geographic data at a scale of 1:5,000 and 50-centimeter-class video map data, and the government is in discussions with the company to fulfill their request.”
The official said providing accurate maps of sites related to national security may expose coordinate information of such locations.
“Through our efforts for deregulation, we can provide the data once the company agrees with the blurring process as a security measure. But it refused to accept this,” he said. “We are in a tense situation with North Korea and thus security is very important. Our situation is different from the United States or Japan.”
Koh also pointed out that Google has blurred out location information of security facilities in Israel. The Israeli government has established diplomatic agreements to prohibit its security facilities from being exposed in commercial satellite photography.
Google has refused this request, saying such a move would cause issues in displaying disputed territories.
Unlike in many other countries, the Google Maps service provides outdated, 2D geographic information on Korea. This is because Korea’s laws strictly prohibit export of the nation’s geographic data overseas without permission from the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
Because Google does not have a data center to store the data on Korean soil, it has had to provide limited map information, provided by SK Planet. The SK Group affiliate used to provide the nation’s most-sought-after mobile navigation service T Map and has transferred the service to SK Telecom in April.
Unlike Google, Korean mapping service providers such as SK Telecom, Naver and Kakao have their data centers here, where they are regularly inspected by the government for security. The government has provided geographic data to these companies after blurring locations that it considers critical for national security.
“The government restricts us only from providing information, location and photographs of important security facilities like military bases,” a Kakao spokesman said.
Without a data center here, Google has tried several times to collect geographical data on Korea and bring it to its data centers established globally over the last six years but its efforts ended up disapproved by the government.
For businesses that are unable to store map data in Korea, the National Geographic Information Institute has produced an English-language electronic map with a scale of 1:25,000 and allowed them to export the information overseas for commercial use since early 2014.
But Google has asked for more accurate map data with a scale of 1:5,000, saying that the 1:25,000 scale is not detailed enough for commercial use.
Instead of the land minister’s approval, the government has organized a committee of officials from the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the National Intelligence Service to make a decision on allowing export of the data. The committee has agreed that Google can have accurate map data once it accepts the request to apply the blurring process globally.
An official at Google Korea said, “We have continued to apply for data export approval, even in the face of a tough government regulation barrier.”