Autonomous Vehicles Set to Hit Downtown Gwangju... First Runs Begin Nov. 30

Country’s First Citywide Demonstration to Cover Gwangju’s Five Autonomous Districts
Runs to Begin on Outlying Roads and Expand to Side Streets
120 Vehicles to Be Deployed by Year-End; Integrated Operations Office to Open on November 17

Autonomous vehicle demonstration runs are set to begin in downtown Gwangju on November 30. Initially, the vehicles will operate mainly on outlying roads with light traffic, and the routes will be expanded to include side streets after the technology has been validated.

Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City said on November 15 that it is carrying out an autonomous driving demonstration project across Gwangju’s five autonomous districts in cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, and participating companies. This is the country’s first citywide demonstration project. It will validate autonomous driving technology by testing vehicles in a range of real-world driving conditions on actual roads.

Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City

Since the launch of the “Korea Autonomous Driving Team” last May, work has been underway to build and modify vehicles and establish an operational support system. Hyundai Motor plans to produce and deliver 200 software-defined vehicles (SDVs), and has supplied 67 to date. Participating companies, including Hyundai Motor, A2Z, and RideFlux, are installing sensors and autonomous driving systems in the vehicles. RideFlux applied for a temporary operating permit for its first vehicle last week. If the relevant procedures proceed as planned, about 120 vehicles will be deployed on public roads by the end of this year.

The vehicles will be deployed in stages according to each participating company’s schedule. Initially, they will operate in outlying areas where traffic is light and roads are wide, with routes later expanded to include side streets. Specific routes and deployment schedules will be announced once finalized.

The integrated operations office overseeing vehicle operations will begin operating on November 17 at the Gwangju Future Mobility Promotion Agency. It will monitor vehicle locations and operating status in real time. Participating companies began moving into separate office space last week, and a dedicated parking facility with 205 spaces and electric vehicle charging stations is also scheduled to be established this month.

A safety management system is also being established. Gwangju Special City, together with the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, has prepared safety and operating guidelines that set out pre-operation vehicle inspections and the procedures each organization must follow in an emergency. Before the first run, relevant agencies, including the police and fire services, will conduct a joint mock drill to review the accident response system.

The public will receive information about the vehicles’ appearance and routes, precautions for driving near them, and procedures to follow in the event of an accident. The information will be shared with drivers, pedestrians, and transport workers through short videos, social media, and the city’s promotional channels.

Park Jeonghwan, director of the AI Mobility Bureau, said, “We will provide ample information about the vehicles’ operations so that residents can become familiar with autonomous vehicles, and actively support the project to help it contribute to the development of the region’s future mobility industry.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.