Google seeks to host uncensored map

By Yoon Sung-won

A sign outside Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.

Google has submitted a request to the National Geographic Information Institute (NGII) again for approval to host the nation’s geographic data overseas, government sources said Sunday.

The sources said Google made the request last week, which is the IT giant’s second official attempt to obtain map images of Korea, aiming at extending its Google Maps service to cover the country.

The current law stipulates that the NGII is to organize a committee with related government agencies including the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the Ministry of National Defense and the National Intelligence Service and reach a decision on approval within 60 days after receiving the application.

However, Google has not accepted the Korean government’s precondition of blurring map data for sensitive areas such as Cheong Wa Dae and military bases for the sake of national security, making the company’s second proposal unlikely to be approved.

“We understand that Google and the Korean government have not reached a definite agreement about excising map information for the nation’s security facilities,” said an official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which oversees the NGII.

Since 2008, Google has sought access to Korea’s uncensored geographic images to provide all the functions of Google Maps including 3D satellite maps, real-time traffic information and automobile navigation service.

As Google does not have a data center to store the geographic information in Korea, it needs to host it overseas. But unlike those of many other countries such as the United States, Korea’s security laws prohibit this.

Despite Google Maps being one of the world’s most sought-after online map services, it has only provided limited and inaccurate 2D information of Korea as it lacks the detailed and up-to-date geographical data provided by the government.

Unlike Google, Korea’s map information service providers such as Naver, Kakao and SK Telecom provide detailed maps with 1:5,000 scale as they have agreed to censor the sites of key national security facilities, usually by covering up the locations with forests.

Google has complained that the government’s stubborn regulations are biased against foreign businesses and called for more openness.

The NGII has offered map images with a scale of 1:25,000 to businesses seeking to send them overseas. But Google has refused because the data is not detailed enough to provide advanced functions such as its navigation service.

As a move to ease the regulation, the government established a committee led by the NGII in 2014 to discuss ways to send the nation’s map data overseas. It has approved several applications made for academic but not for commercial purposes.