Gyeonggi Province announced on May 26 that the 7km section of the Pangyo Autonomous Driving Demonstration Complex has been designated as a pilot zone for autonomous vehicles by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and various autonomous driving-based transportation services such as unmanned shuttles and robot taxis are expected to be test-driven.

MOLIT held "Autonomous Driving Vehicle Demonstration Zone Committee" on the same day and designated the Pangyo Autonomous Driving Demonstration Complex as an autonomous vehicle pilot zone.

The pilot zone is a special regulatory zone to support the demonstration of autonomous driving service with the implementation of the Act on the Promotion of and Support for Commercialization of Autonomous Driving Motor Vehicles that took effect in May of last year.

With this, at the Pangyo autonomous driving demonstration complex, demonstrations can be conducted from the perspective of business operation while receiving actual fees after receiving various regulatory exceptions, such as permitting paid transportation for passengers and exempting automobile safety standards for temporary operation permits.

Accordingly, the demonstration of autonomous driving-based transportation and logistics services such as unmanned shuttles and robot taxis is expected to become more active.

The Pangyo Zero City autonomous vehicle pilot operation zone is a 7km route (Pangyo Station - Gyeonggi Business Growth Center) that runs through the Pangyo Technovalley 1 and 2. This year, various paid and free mobility services will be demonstrated for people who work and live in Pangyo in the Pangyo Technovalley 1

In Pangyo Technovalley 1, a demand-response robot taxi service (unmanned call taxi) will be implemented and a circular shuttle service will be showcased to Gyeonggi Business Growth Center.

Based on the business performance of the first year, the user-centered transportation service will be gradually increased.

The Pangyo Autonomous Driving Demonstration Complex is the first open platform in Korea that can demonstrate road-based autonomous driving vehicles. The designation of this pilot zone is expected to serve as a test stage for various companies' autonomous driving business models.

It is expected to produce positive effects on technology development and service expansion of companies that are developing autonomous driving technology.

Gyeonggi Province plans to start the autonomous driving service after announcing the recruitment of operators in May and selecting operators.

Lim Mun-young, the Future Growth Policy Officer of Gyeonggi-do, said, “Gyeonggi-do preemptively invested in the implementation and operation of Pangyo Autonomous Driving Demonstration Complex, and we are trying hard to create an autonomous driving ecosystem through continuous support. By designating the autonomous vehicle pilot driving zone this time, I hope that more people will feel closer to autonomous driving and more companies take this opportunity to test the technology and service provided in Pangyo.”

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province launched the Gyeonggi Autonomous Driving Center in May 2019 and is stably operating the Pangyo Autonomous Driving Demonstration Complex on real roads. Based on this, it is actively supporting startups' demonstration tests and big data services.

With the designation of the district as an opportunity, it is planning to gradually expand the area of the pilot district by examining the need for expanding the service.

Pangyo Technovalley is an innovation hub for global companies comparable to the Silicon Valley in the US, Zhongguancun in China, and STATION F in France. It is an Asia tech hub with 1,259 IT, BT, CT, and NT companies that possess innovative products and technologies. Located just south of the metropolitan area, it provides the best environment for Korean companies to do business with great transportation access and infrastructure.

Various high-tech companies are located in Pangyo Technovalley, and it is occupied by 64,000 full-time employees, many in their 20-30s. In terms of industry, the companies are engaged in information technology, contents technology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology.

With the support of innovative companies with global capabilities such as Kakao, Naver, AhnLab, Krafton, NCSoft, Nexon, and Hancom, companies in Pangyo Technovalley recorded 107 trillion won in sales last year. Investment and infrastructure growth in Pangyo is expected to continue, with the Metaverse hub entering Pangyo this year.

Source: Pangyo Techno Valley Official Newsroom 

→ Asia Innovation Hub Pangyo Techno Valley 2021 News