South Korea

Intelligence for Better Decision Making

Hyundai Launches Domestic AI-Driven Autonomous Vehicle Initiative for 2028 Commercialization
Jan. 13, 2026 | Technology & Innovation

Hyundai Motor and its partners are developing a domestically engineered AI-driven autonomous vehicle set for commercialization by 2028.

**Hyundai aims to integrate a homegrown AI autonomous driving model to manage core vehicle functions, narrowing the technological gap with global automakers and boosting its competitiveness.**
LG Electronics, Hyundai Mobis and HL Mando will jointly build the ADV platform—combining vehicle architecture and software—by the end of next year, while HL Clemoove and Kakao Mobility develop a specialized AI model for software-defined vehicles by 2027. Additional partners including Naver will support data integration and AI infrastructure.

**Mass production of the ADV is scheduled to begin in 2028, with broader applications rolling out by 2030 to strengthen South Korea’s AI mobility ecosystem.**
Hyundai plans to announce key milestones at the K-AI Future Car Alliance signing ceremony in January 2026. Chairman Chung Eui-sun has stressed the strategic shift toward in-house AI development to position Hyundai as a world-class automaker and reduce reliance on external solutions.

**In parallel, Hyundai is expanding its AI capabilities through collaborations in robotaxi and robotics.**
Partnerships with Motional and Boston Dynamics will foster AI expertise transferable across mobility and robotics ventures. Naver will extend mobility services by integrating AI agents, infrastructure and data to support future vehicle ecosystems.

**Gwangju city will serve as South Korea’s first autonomous driving testbed, hosting around 200 AI-equipped robot vehicles from mid-2026.**
Backed by a 62.2 billion won national investment, these vehicles will collect urban driving data in snow, rain, congestion, construction zones and narrow alleyways to refine autonomy algorithms and enhance performance.

**The K-Autonomous Driving Collaboration Model in Gwangju pairs large corporations developing vehicle control platforms with startups providing autonomous driving software.**
The downtown area will act as a demonstration zone, leveraging an existing national AI data center and a major driving simulator in Advanced Industrial Complex 3. Plans call for a triangular industrial belt linking Jingok, Bitgreen and the Future Car Industrial Complexes, later expanding citywide to mirror global autonomous driving hubs.

**Government support includes regulatory easing within designated autonomous driving pilot zones to encourage industry participation.**
These measures align with the national Master Plan to Foster the Future Car Materials, Parts, and Equipment Industry and aim to build a sustainable ecosystem that drives long-term local economic growth.
Motional advances full driverless robotaxi rollout in Las Vegas for 2026
Jan. 13, 2026 | Transportation & Logistics

Fully driverless Level 4 robotaxi services promise to redefine urban transportation in major cities.

**Motional, a majority Hyundai Motor Group joint venture, plans to launch fully driverless Level 4 robotaxi services in Las Vegas by the end of 2026.**
Since early 2026, the company has run pilot services with modified Hyundai IONIQ 5 vehicles alongside ride-sharing platforms such as Uber and Lyft to validate safety, driving quality, and customer experience before full commercialization.

**The company’s autonomous driving efforts began in 2018, with pilot programs in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Singapore.**
Motional chose Las Vegas for its dense traffic and high tourist volume, creating rigorous test conditions. To date, it has provided more than 130,000 public rides and logged over 2 million autonomous miles without any at-fault incidents. A fleet of 109 vehicles operates under daily monitoring by a central control team based in Las Vegas.

**Motional follows a safety-first approach, meeting US NHTSA Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and earning validations from German testing and certification bodies.**
Its robotaxis integrate 29 sensors—including cameras, radar, and LiDAR—for multimodal redundancy. On January 8, 2026, a 35-minute Level 4 test drive in Las Vegas demonstrated the vehicle’s advanced perception and decision-making: it detected a flying plastic bag, stopped, activated hazard lights, and smoothly navigated commercial districts, tourist areas, hotels, and the busy Strip. The only issue noted was noticeable computer fan noise inside the cabin, which the team will resolve before commercialization.

**Motional is shifting from a modular autonomous architecture to an end-to-end AI and machine learning system that unifies perception, decision-making, and control into a single model.**
This new approach aims to boost performance in complex settings, reduce software complexity, speed up updates, and support global scalability. Current pilot vehicles operate both architectures in parallel to gather data and refine the end-to-end system.

**Hyundai Motor Group will integrate Motional’s Level 4 operational know-how and safety systems with 42dot’s software-defined vehicle platform to strengthen its autonomous driving capabilities.**
Having invested approximately $3 billion in development, Motional is also evaluating service expansion into South Korea and other markets based on insights gained from its US rollout.

Monitored Intelligence for South Korea - Jan. 13, 2026


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Science Ministry, Nvidia share view on swiftly setting up research center in Korea

Joongang Ilbo | English | News | Jan. 13, 2026 | UndeterminedBizdev-Partnering

The Science Ministry of Korea and Nvidia have agreed on the importance of quickly establishing a research and development center in Korea. This consensus was reached during a meeting between Second Vice Science Minister Ryu Je-myung and Nvidia's Executive Vice President Jay Puri in California on January 9, 2026.

Both parties also discussed strategies to collaboratively support and develop artificial intelligence startups. The Ministry of Science and ICT emphasized the urgency of setting up Nvidia's R&D facility to boost innovation and growth in Korea's AI sector.

K게임, '세제 사다리' 필요하다... 규제 강화 속 진흥책 요원

K-Game Needs a Tax Ladder... Promotion Measures Remote Amid Strengthened Regulations

ET News | Local Language | News | Jan. 13, 2026 | Regulation

The K-game industry is facing significant challenges due to a sharp decline in domestic game usage rates, which dropped from 74.4% in 2022 to 50.2% in 2025, shaking the industry's foundations. Small and medium-sized developers are particularly affected by increased regulatory pressures, high interest rates, rising production costs, and dwindling user numbers. Industry voices emphasize the urgent need for a "production cost tax credit" to create a "tax ladder" that encourages creative development and supports smaller companies struggling to compete.

Recently, the government and National Assembly have strengthened regulations, including tougher penalties for violations related to probability-based items in games, reflecting a policy focus on user protection. However, the industry contends that these regulatory efforts lack accompanying promotional incentives, which could lead to further industry contraction. Attempts to introduce game production cost tax credits, modeled similarly to tax benefits in the video content sector, are currently stalled in the National Assembly due to concerns from financial authorities about reduced tax revenue and overlap with existing R&D tax credits.

The existing R&D tax credit system benefits mainly large game companies, as small developers often cannot meet stringent requirements involving dedicated research facilities and personnel. Additionally, the R&D framework is criticized for inadequately addressing the ongoing live service nature of games. Experts highlight that implementing a production cost tax credit could generate approximately 1.45 trillion won in added value and create over 15,000 jobs in five years, potentially expanding national tax revenues in the long term by fostering a reinvestment cycle in the industry.

Legal and industry specialists stress the necessity of establishing a virtuous-cycle ecosystem to nurture the global competitiveness of K-games. Without substantive promotion measures to counterbalance increasing regulatory risks, the growth and innovation capacity of Korea's game sector remain under threat.

Exclusive: South Korea's Trade Minister Addresses U.S. Regulatory Concerns

Chosun Ilbo | English | News | Jan. 13, 2026 | Regulation

South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo addressed U.S. concerns about South Korea's regulatory actions on online platforms during his visit near Washington, DC. He emphasized the need to clearly explain Seoul's policy and legislative intentions amid misunderstandings voiced by U.S. political circles regarding South Korea’s treatment of companies like Coupang and revisions to the Information and Communications Network Act.

Tensions have escalated as U.S. lawmakers, particularly Republican Representative Darrell Issa, have sharply criticized South Korea’s measures, including restrictions on Google’s map data exports, comparing South Korea to countries with restrictive trade policies. Issa also condemned comments by the head of South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission on U.S. trade policies, reflecting heightened sensitivity toward regulations affecting major U.S. tech firms.

Yeo plans to conduct extensive outreach with members of the U.S. House and Senate and digital industry groups, including a meeting with Issa. He is also scheduled to meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer amid concerns over delays in the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement Joint Committee meeting, which was postponed due to U.S. dissatisfaction with South Korea’s so-called "digital barriers." The delay raises fears of potential trade conflicts if unresolved.

The ongoing investigation and indictment of Coupang Korea’s interim representative by the South Korean National Assembly has drawn attention from the U.S., given Coupang’s status as a U.S.-listed company. The U.S. Embassy in Seoul is monitoring these developments closely, with some U.S. officials perceiving the actions as discriminatory. Yeo rejected claims of discriminatory treatment, framing the issue as one centered on the response to a major information leak rather than trade or diplomatic hostility.

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