The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) will hold a signing ceremony for the "Korea Autonomous Driving Team" at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Gwangju on Thursday, officially launching the initiative.
The launch comes after Gwangju Metropolitan City was designated as an autonomous driving demonstration zone in April and the selection of participating operators was completed, marking the full-scale start of the "Gwangju Autonomous Driving Demonstration City Project."
The Korea Autonomous Driving Team is a "one-team" model bringing together central and local governments and private companies. At the launch ceremony, participants will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) pledging cooperation throughout the entire project.
The project is a large-scale demonstration that will deploy 200 autonomous vehicles across 500.97 square kilometers of actual living areas in Gwangju, including residential and commercial districts. By repeating a virtuous cycle of "driving data accumulation → autonomous driving AI learning → demonstration," the project aims to achieve End-to-End (E2E)-based Level 4 autonomous driving by 2027.
Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) will provide 200 software-defined vehicles (SDVs), to be unveiled at the launch ceremony, starting in June through the end of the year. An SDV is a vehicle in which software controls driving performance, safety and convenience functions, with capabilities enhanced through over-the-air (OTA) updates. Autonomous driving companies including Autonomous a2z, RideFlux and Hyundai Motor will equip the vehicles with sensors and software, conduct safety verification and begin demonstrations.
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (000810.KS) will develop insurance products dedicated to autonomous driving and handle emergency dispatch and cause analysis in the event of accidents. The Korea Transportation Safety Authority will oversee project management and performance verification for 24-hour demonstration operations, Gwangju Metropolitan City will provide infrastructure support such as depots and charging facilities, and MOLIT will oversee the project's policy, regulatory and administrative support.
Participating companies will also explain their recruitment plans at the technology exhibition space at the venue. As the policy is to prioritize hiring personnel needed for the demonstration project from within the region, the initiative is expected to contribute to local job creation.
"We cannot fall behind the United States and China, the leaders in the autonomous driving field," MOLIT Minister Kim Yoon-duk said. "Today's event will serve as the starting point of our counterattack, and we will leap forward to become a global Top 3 player." He added, "We will provide full support, including pursuing the autonomous driving demonstration city project as a mega zone that combines regulatory exceptions with a policy support package."
