(Seoul=News1) Reporter Park Ji-hye: On the 8th of this month (local time), Minister Kim Yoon-duk of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport visited Waymo, a leading autonomous driving company in San Francisco, USA. (Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Resale and DB prohibited) 2026.1.9/News1
The government is supporting the pilot operation of autonomous driving services by local governments to improve convenience for public movement and freight transport.
On the 24th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it would provide a total of 3 billion KRW to eight local governments, including Seoul, Gangwon, and Gyeongnam, to expand autonomous driving services, focusing on areas and times with inconvenient transportation. The support per local government is 800 million KRW for Seoul, 600 million KRW for Daegu, and 600 million KRW for Gyeonggi (450 million KRW for Anyang and 150 million KRW for Pangyo).
In this “Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Driving Zone Service Support Project,” the support is strengthened in the blind spots of public transportation with high service experience, improving the mobility of residents in poorly connected areas. Additionally, the government plans to newly support freight transport autonomous driving services to promote the commercialization of high-speed and long-distance autonomous driving services.
The main autonomous driving services selected for this year’s support project for each local government are as follows. First, Gangwon Province will operate a late-night autonomous DRT service for the first time in Gangneung, the venue for this year’s ITS World Congress. It will improve the ease of movement during late-night hours for many tourists and international event participants at major transportation hubs like Anmok Beach, Gangneung Station, and the intercity bus terminal. The ITS World Congress is the world’s largest international transportation event, showcasing autonomous driving and ITS technology and hosting international conferences.
Seoul plans to operate the country’s first driverless autonomous taxi service in Sangam and introduce an autonomous shuttle to support transportation for the vulnerable in Yangcheon. Gyeonggi-do aims to demonstrate autonomous shuttle operations in congested areas on a new route (Gwanak Station to Anyang Arboretum) while operating daytime and late-night buses in Anyang. In Pangyo, an autonomous DRT service will be linked to the existing autonomous route bus for worker convenience.
Additionally, Daegu will introduce a middle-mile high-speed freight service between logistics hubs and confirm the commercial viability of autonomous driving technology in the freight transport field through a challenging demonstration linked with the last mile.
Lim Wol-shi, Head of the Autonomous Driving Policy Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, “Autonomous driving technology is particularly highly perceived by the public in terms of passenger transport in transportation-vulnerable areas and time zones, and its use in freight transport is imminent. We will support this service project to enhance the convenience of public mobility and reduce the driving fatigue of freight transport workers, ensuring autonomous driving technology successfully takes root.”