Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
Kakao Mobility launches Korea’s 1st robot valet service
Kakao Mobility's robot valet parking zone at the Chungbuk Content Enterprise Promotion Center in North Chungcheong Province / Courtesy of Kakao Mobility
By Lee Gyu-lee
Kakao Mobility has launched Korea’s first robot valet parking service, using advanced parking robot technology to deliver a practical and accessible mobility solution.
The company announced Wednesday that it has installed a robotic parking system at the parking lot of Chungbuk Content Enterprise Promotion Center in Cheongju, in partnership with HL Robotics, North Chungcheong Province and Chungbuk Innovation Institute of Science & Technology.
The service comes as a result of Kakao Mobility’s collaboration with HL Robotics following the partnership agreement in May to commercialize autonomous parking robot technology.
“In turning high-precision parking robots into a convenient real-world service, we drew on our strengths as a comprehensive mobility-as-a-service platform,” a Kakao Mobility official said.
“We’ll continue to refine our platform to ensure that the benefits of advanced mobility technologies reach everyday users.”
To use the system, drivers simply leave their vehicle within the yellow lines of the designated robot valet zone. After verifying their license plate and completing the entry registration at a kiosk, HL Robotics’ Parkie, a parking robot, seamlessly lifts and transports the car to its assigned parking spot.
To retrieve their vehicle, drivers can use a website link sent via KakaoTalk to request Parkie to bring the car to the pick-up zone, facing the exit for convenience. An alert is sent through the messaging app once their car is ready.
The service is currently available on a trial basis for employees of the building’s organizations who register in advance, with plans to gradually expand access to more users.
A kiosk is placed at Kakao Mobility's robot valet parking zone at the Chungbuk Content Enterprise Promotion Center in North Chungcheong Province. Courtesy of Kakao Mobility
“Under current regulations, parking robots are classified as mechanical parking facilities, requiring a separate robot valet zone within parking lots. But there are constant discussions on regulatory revisions,” the company said.
“Once the robot valet service is fully implemented, it is expected to not only remove the hassle of manual parking for drivers but also help operators to maximize [the] efficiency of the parking space.”
Kakao Mobility has already demonstrated strong technical capabilities in parking solutions, having commercialized the world’s first indoor positioning system, fused indoor localization, and developed systems such as the universal parking controller, which brings different parking lot systems under one platform.
Building on this expertise and its data-driven strategies, the company recently signed a memorandum of understanding to provide parking solutions for Saudi Arabia’s large-scale Diriyah urban development project.
HL Robotics’ Parkie operates by sliding underneath a vehicle, gently lifting and transporting it to its designated spot with precision. The robot has been recognized for its innovation in both autonomous driving and parking efficiency, earning the Best of Innovation in Drones & Unmanned Systems at CES last year.