The Mobility Team at LIN LLC monitors technological, legislative, and regulatory trends across the automotive and future mobility industries to provide our clients with comprehensive updates on key issues. 

Recent mobility policy initiatives focus on expanding the infrastructure for the commercialization of future mobility—such as autonomous driving and Urban Air Mobility (UAM)—while giving concrete shape to vehicular safety standards to align with evolving technological advancements. This issue outlines key developments regarding the relaxation of regulations on the utilization of private geospatial data, the solicitation for region-specific UAM pilot projects, and the recent amendments to automotive safety standards.


Regulatory Reforms to Ease Security Restrictions and Expand the Utilization of Private Geospatial Data

Establishing Security Procedures and Streamlining Reviews for Private Maps and Satellite Imagery

On June 17, 2026, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) issued a public notice of proposed amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on National Spatial Data Infrastructure. Reflecting the growing volume of privately generated geospatial data (such as maps and satellite imagery), these amendments focus on establishing security processing procedures and standards applicable to private geospatial data. Previously, the absence of clear security standards for privately produced geospatial data restricted its distribution and utilization; however, through these amendments, clear security processing protocols have been established, allowing such data to be utilized with greater flexibility.

Furthermore, the security review process required to obtain access-restricted geospatial data has been partially alleviated. Under the updated framework, if the same access-restricted geospatial data is requested again within one year of a prior security review, the review will be expedited to evaluate only the altered elements, with the remaining portions exempted.

The competitiveness of autonomous driving, digital twins, and AI-driven urban operations depends directly on a business’s ability to continuously acquire and update precise, current geospatial data. These amendments are significant as they broaden the foundation for utilizing privately generated geospatial data and alleviate the burden of repetitive security reviews. However, because the security reviews and security measures for access-restricted geospatial data have not been entirely abolished, relevant market participants must establish systematic security processing standards and management frameworks across the entire data lifecycle—from generation and processing to distribution.


Solicitation for Region-Specific UAM Pilot Projects

Identifying Early Commercialization Models to Integrate Transport-Deficient Areas, Tourism, and Public Services

MOLIT is currently conducting a public solicitation for the "Support for Regional Urban Air Mobility Pilot Projects" initiative to discover early UAM commercialization models tailored to regional demands. This solicitation focuses heavily on public-sector UAM services capable of resolving local pain points, such as improving mobility in transportation-isolated regions (e.g., islands and mountainous areas), boosting local tourism, and delivering public healthcare and administrative services.

Eligible applicants include metropolitan and provincial local governments preparing for pilot zone designations and early commercialization. The single final project selected will receive up to KRW 1 billion in state funding, contingent upon a 1:1 local government matching fund. This financial assistance is structured to support, inter alia, project planning, the evaluation of vertiport locations, scale, and operational plans, as well as architectural planning and design.

This initiative marks a meaningful shift toward conceptualizing UAM projects not merely as technological demonstrations, but as viable commercial enterprises integrated with regional transit, tourism, and public infrastructure. Given that public utility is explicitly listed as an evaluation criterion, successfully incorporating substantive measures for resident mobility and connectivity with existing public transportation networks will be critical to project selection.


Amendments to Automotive Safety Standards: Tightening of Standards for Automatic Lighting and Regenerative Braking Signal Activation

‘Updating Safety Standards to Prevent "Stealth Vehicles" and Adapt to the Rise of One-Pedal Driving

On June 5, 2026, MOLIT promulgated amendments to the Rules on Performance and Standards of Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Parts. These amendments focus on eliminating "stealth vehicles"—vehicles that fail to turn on their headlights during night driving, thereby impairing visibility for surrounding traffic—and updating safety regulations to keep pace with novel driving mechanisms such as electric vehicle (EV) one-pedal driving.

Effective September 1, 2026, all newly manufactured or imported passenger cars, buses, trucks, and special-purpose vehicles must be equipped with an automatic lighting functionality that detects ambient brightness to activate headlights and taillights. Concurrently, standards have been established to prevent drivers from arbitrarily deactivating this feature while driving. These technical requirements have also been updated to ensure that brake lights automatically illuminate whenever regenerative braking causes deceleration above a certain threshold. Under conventional one-pedal driving systems (where deceleration occurs simply by lifting one's foot off the accelerator), brake lights occasionally failed to engage; going forward, brake lights must illuminate whenever the deceleration rate meets or exceeds the regulatory threshold.

These regulatory updates further refine existing lighting, braking, and steering safety standards in response to the proliferation of vehicle electrification and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and importers must classify target models based on the applicable enforcement dates for each standard, incorporating these updates into their design, certification, and production plans. Furthermore, enterprises introducing remote control or autonomous emergency braking functions should review these newly established safety standards from the initial product design phase.