South Korea would soon no longer be one of the few countries where Google Maps does not work properly, after its security-conscious government reversed a two-decade stance to approve the export of high-precision map data to overseas servers.
The approval was made “on the condition that strict security requirements are met,” the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.
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.
Photo: AFP
The decision is expected to hurt Naver and Kakao — local Internet giants which dominate the country’s market for digital map services. However, it would appease Washington, which has urged Seoul to tackle what it says is discrimination against US tech companies.
“We welcome today’s decision and look forward to our ongoing collaboration with local officials to bring a fully functioning Google Maps to Korea,” Google vice president Cris Turner said.
South Korea had shot down Google’s previous bids to be allowed to export the data, citing the risks that information about sensitive military and security facilities could be exposed.
The data in question is 1:5,000 scale data, where 1cm on a map represents 50m in actual distance.
Google said it needs to export the data to provide real-time navigation information worldwide. This includes people researching South Korean destinations from overseas.
The conditions stipulate that Google must process map data on locally based servers, and is only allowed to export data related to navigation and direction services that have been preapproved by the government.
The South Korean government also reserves the right to request revisions to maps, and Google must set up a security incident prevention framework to respond to emergency issues.
Kyung Hee University geography professor Choi Jin-mu said the decision raised serious questions about market control and national security.
“Google can now come in, slash usage fees, and take the market. If Naver and Kakao are weakened or pushed out and Google later raises prices, that becomes a monopoly,” Choi said. “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.”
THE TRAGEDY OF PUNCH: Footage of the seven-month-old Japanese macaque has gone viral online after he was rejected by his mother and formed a bond with a soft toy A baby monkey in Japan has captured hearts around the world after videos of him being bullied by other monkeys and rejected by his mother went viral last week. Punch, a Japanese macaque, was born in July last year at Ichikawa City Zoo. He has drawn international attention after zookeepers gave him a stuffed orangutan toy after he was abandoned by his mother. Without maternal guidance to help him integrate, Punch has turned to the toy for comfort. He has been filmed multiple times being dragged and chased by older Japanese macaques inside the enclosure. Early clips showed him wandering alone with
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday said he did not take his security for granted, after he was evacuated from his residence for several hours following a bomb threat sent to a Chinese dance group. Albanese was evacuated from his Canberra residence late on Tuesday following the threat, and returned a few hours later after nothing suspicious was found. The bomb scare was among several e-mails threatening Albanese sent to a representative of Shen Yun, a classical Chinese dance troupe banned in China that is due to perform in Australia this month, a spokesperson for the group said in a statement. The e-mail
‘OCCUPATION’: Hong Kong said it had lodged ‘stern protests’ with Panama’s consulate, and would ‘staunchly support’ the rights and interests of Hong Kong companies Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino on Monday ordered the temporary occupation of two ports run by a unit of CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd following the Supreme Court’s ruling against the firm’s concession, escalating a dispute that has become a proxy battle between the US and China in Latin America. Mulino said in a speech that the administration and operation of the two ports on the strategic Panama Canal is to revert to the country’s National Maritime Authority to ensure their uninterrupted, safe and efficient operation. The occupation covers movable equipment at the ports and does not mean a definitive loss of
GAME CHANGER The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shown the utility of small drones for recon, for supporting logistics and for killing across the modern battlefield Five European nations have announced a new program to produce low-cost air defense systems and autonomous drones using Ukrainian expertise, hard-won over the past four years fighting against Russia. Friday’s initiative of the five nations — France, Poland, Germany, the UK and Italy — comes as one of many European efforts to bolster defense along their borders, like a “drone wall ” with Russia and Ukraine to better detect, track and intercept drones violating Europe’s airspace. Both Moscow and Kyiv have cutting-edge drone warfare capabilities forged in the grim laboratory of war where battlefield innovations have rewritten modern battle tactics. Poland is
RSS