For years, tourists visiting South Korea have found that their Google Maps on their phones is practically unusable, lacking proper navigation and complete business information, leaving them reliant on local services like Kakao Maps. However, this situation is about to undergo a historic change.
According to The New York TimesReportGoogle has received permission from South Korea's Ministry of Transport to export precise geographic data overseas. This decision removes long-standing restrictions, allowing Google Maps to finally function fully in South Korea.
Compromises and strict conditions for national security considerations
For a long time, due to South Korea's continued technological conflict with North Korea, and based on national security considerations, the South Korean government has strictly restricted the export of high-precision map data with a scale greater than 1/5000 to overseas servers. Google submitted map data export applications twice, in 2007 and 2016, but both attempts failed.
This approval was not without conditions. A spokesperson for the South Korean Ministry of Transport stated that the approval was based on "meeting stringent security requirements." These conditions reportedly severely restrict Google from displaying sensitive military locations and even limit the precise display of specific latitude and longitude coordinates.
In a statement to The New York Times, Google executive Cris Turner said, "We welcome today's decision and look forward to continuing to work with local officials to bring fully functional Google Maps to South Korea."
The power struggle in trade negotiations and the looming threat of monopoly by domestic giants
This "data war," which has lasted for more than a decade, is actually related to the trade rivalry between the US and South Korea. It is said that the lack of a data-sharing mechanism has always been a point of contention in the US-South Korea trade negotiations.
Google has repeatedly complained that these national security-based restrictions put them at a severe competitive disadvantage, which in turn has spurred the booming development of South Korean navigation apps such as NAVER and Kakao.
However, South Korea's full opening of its map data has also raised concerns among local academics and industry professionals.
According toReuters NewsCiting a comment from geography professor Choi Jin-mu, critics worry that Google's aggressive entry with its vast resources could lead to a market monopoly in the future. If Naver and Kakao are weakened or squeezed out of the market, and Google subsequently raises its service prices, this would become a monopoly. At that point, even local businesses that rely on map services (such as logistics companies) would be completely at Google's mercy.
Analysis of viewpoints
From an industry competition perspective, this poses an unprecedented survival challenge for NAVER and Kakao, which have been deeply rooted in the South Korean market for many years. Google possesses the strong advantage of pre-installed Android system and a global ecosystem of local guides reviews. Once the underlying map data accuracy of Google Maps catches up with its local competitors, it can easily attract a large number of foreign tourists and some local users seeking an international experience through cross-language translation and seamless account integration.
The map app market in South Korea is about to shift from comparing map accuracy to a full-blown battle over the integration of local services (such as ride-hailing, food delivery, and mobile payments).
