Gwangju becomes Korea's 1st test bed for self-driving cars

Autonomous driving taxis based on the Hyundai Motor Ioniq 5 are seen inside the Motional Tech Center in Las Vegas, Jan. 12. Yonhap

Gwangju Metropolitan City has been selected as the country’s first test bed for autonomous vehicles, the government announced Wednesday.

The southwestern city expects the designation to accelerate the collection and analysis of large-scale data, laying the groundwork for the development of next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for future vehicles.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Gwangju’s entire road network will be opened as testing sites for autonomous cars. The government said it chose Gwangju after determining that the city best met key criteria for the project, including a population of more than 1 million and a distinctive mix of urban and rural environments.

The Lee Jae Myung administration’s New Government Economic Growth Strategy, announced in August, and the Measures to Strengthen Competitiveness in the Autonomous Vehicle Industry, unveiled in November, also identified the country’s southwestern region, led by Gwangju, as a national hub for the industry, according to an official from the automated driving policy division under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Mobility and Motor Vehicles Bureau.

The government will begin inviting companies to participate in the Gwangju testing project next month. Over a 36-day screening period, authorities will review applications and select up to three firms to develop and deploy the country’s most advanced AI-based autonomous driving technologies.

“We expect all major Korean carmakers to join the project, such as Hyundai Motor Company,” the official said.

The project comes as the government has struggled to keep the country’s autonomous driving technologies on par with global leaders such as the United States and China. Officials said that while Korea has established safety regulations and certification systems for self-driving performance, it has fallen behind industry-leading nations that have successfully developed AI technologies capable of making independent driving decisions.

Vehicles are on the road in Gwangju, Wednesday, as the city issued a heavy snow warning. Yonhap

The ministry expects the Gwangju testing project to generate sufficient big data for Korea to advance its AI technologies and become one of the world’s top three nations in the autonomous driving industry. The Korea Transportation Safety Authority’s Automotive Safety Research Institute will oversee the testing.

Once the participating firms are selected, they will be provided with self-driving vehicles from a pool of 200 software-defined cars for testing. Companies with more advanced capabilities will be allocated a larger number of vehicles to conduct tests on regular roads and in residential areas and rural regions around the clock. Testing will begin with manned vehicles, and after a year-long government evaluation, it will gradually expand to include unmanned operations.

Testing will initially take place on the outskirts of the city before expanding to its central areas. Alongside the road trials, the National AI Data Center in Gwangju will deploy 200 graphics processing units to support AI development for the project.

The government is backing the Gwangju project with both vehicle and general insurance to cover accidents. Compensation for victims will draw on both policies to promptly cover damages and any additional costs that may arise from potential AI-related accidents.

“Without testing on actual city roads, we cannot achieve global competitiveness in an industry that is rapidly evolving with AI. By running Gwangju as a living lab, the technological capabilities of participating companies will advance gradually,” Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yun-duk said.

“If the U.S. and China are adults in this industry, Korea is like an elementary school student. This testing will be our last chance to close the gap and become one of the world’s top players."