April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] The South Korean government has rejected Google’s request to take the state-owned detailed map information out of the nation. 

The reviewing committee consisting of eight ministries and government agencies, including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation and the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, made the decision after their final review session in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. 

“Google has rejected the government’s suggestion to blur out military facilities — critical to the security of South Korea, which is in conflict with the North — on the map, so the government has decided not to accept Google’s request to export the map information out of the nation,” said the National Geographic Information Institute, which led the reviewing committee, in a statement.

Google has claimed that it has not offered full-fledged Google Maps services here because it cannot store and use Korea's detailed map information at its servers locaed out of the country. 

The US internet giant has asked the Korean government to allow its access to the 1:5,000-scale map, the most detailed map data avaiable.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)