South Korea Set To Get a Fully Functioning Google Maps (reuters.com)
(Friday February 27, 2026 @10:30PM (BeauHD)
from the what-year-is-it dept.)
- Reference: 0180870086
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/02/27/2144239/south-korea-set-to-get-a-fully-functioning-google-maps
- Source link: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-approves-google-bid-export-high-precision-map-data-2026-02-27/
South Korea has reversed a two-decade policy and approved the export of high-precision map data, [1]paving the way for a fully functional Google Maps in the country . Reuters reports:
> The approval was made "on the condition that strict security requirements are met," the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. Those conditions include blurring military and other sensitive security-related facilities, as well as restricting longitude and latitude coordinates for South Korean territory on products such as Google Maps and Google Earth, it said.
>
> The decision is expected to hurt Naver and Kakao -- local internet giants which currently dominate the country's market for digital map services. But it will appease Washington, which has urged Seoul to tackle what it says is discrimination against U.S. tech companies. South Korea, still technically at war with North Korea, had shot down Google's previous bids in 2007 and 2016 to be allowed to export the data, citing the risks that information about sensitive military and security facilities could be exposed.
"Google can now come in, slash usage fees, and take the market," said Choi Jin-mu, a geography professor at Kyung Hee University. "If Naver and Kakao are weakened or pushed out and Google later raises prices, that becomes a monopoly. Then, even companies that rely on map services -- logistics firms, for example -- become dependent, and in the long run, even government GIS (geographic information) systems could end up dependent on Google or Apple. That's the biggest concern."
[1] https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-approves-google-bid-export-high-precision-map-data-2026-02-27/
> The approval was made "on the condition that strict security requirements are met," the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. Those conditions include blurring military and other sensitive security-related facilities, as well as restricting longitude and latitude coordinates for South Korean territory on products such as Google Maps and Google Earth, it said.
>
> The decision is expected to hurt Naver and Kakao -- local internet giants which currently dominate the country's market for digital map services. But it will appease Washington, which has urged Seoul to tackle what it says is discrimination against U.S. tech companies. South Korea, still technically at war with North Korea, had shot down Google's previous bids in 2007 and 2016 to be allowed to export the data, citing the risks that information about sensitive military and security facilities could be exposed.
"Google can now come in, slash usage fees, and take the market," said Choi Jin-mu, a geography professor at Kyung Hee University. "If Naver and Kakao are weakened or pushed out and Google later raises prices, that becomes a monopoly. Then, even companies that rely on map services -- logistics firms, for example -- become dependent, and in the long run, even government GIS (geographic information) systems could end up dependent on Google or Apple. That's the biggest concern."
[1] https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-approves-google-bid-export-high-precision-map-data-2026-02-27/
Tourists say thankyou (Score:3)
by mkwan ( 2589113 )
I was in Seoul last year, and it was a choice between Google Maps (all coordinates out by 50m+) and Naver (most labels in Korean). Such a hassle.
Monopoly (Score:2)
by Hentes ( 2461350 )
> If Naver and Kakao are weakened or pushed out and Google later raises prices,
This has already happened in other countries. Google Maps pushes out the competition using low prices, then proceeds to raise prices by more than 1000%, up to an eyewatering $0!
Re: (Score:2)
by mackil ( 668039 )
>> "If Naver and Kakao are weakened or pushed out and Google later raises prices, that becomes a monopoly.
"But it's not OUR monoply, so it's bad"
A ... maps (Score:2)
by rossdee ( 243626 )
don't they have plural indefinite article in S.Korea ?
They probably figure that North Korea has the maps (Score:2)
Why make things inconvenient for the South Koreans when the North Koreans probably already know where everything is already?
Re: (Score:2)
Not the only thing inconvenient in Korea.
Twitch withdrew from Korea a few years ago because the ISP's want to double dip the fees. I assume this will be a problem for google as well.