Starting as early as next month, those of you in Korea will see more drones and compact
electric cars out and about.
Seoul's land and transport ministry unveiled its grand plan aimed at boosting the country's
high-tech industries.
Hwang Hojun with the details.
The Transport Ministry unveiled on Thursday a Pre-emptive Regulation Modification Plan
to follow up with the government's efforts to cultivate growth in high-tech industries
through deregulation.
"This plan will not only jump start the stagnated economy but also act as a catalyst to boost
the process of developing new technologies, including drones and self-driving vehicles."
Until now, drone usage has been limited to few areas such as agriculture, aerial filming,
and flight training.
But once the plan is implemented, as long as it doesn't jeopardize national security,
the drone industry will be able to expand its scope to all sectors including the service
and entertainment industries.
The plan also abolishes the minimum capital rule for businesses using drones weighting
25 kilograms or less.
Next -generation vehicles will also benefit from the plan, with a significant move on
compact electric cars such as Renault-Samsung's Twizy.
Such vehicles for just one or two passengers had legal limitations for on-road operations
as they lacked domestic legal standards.
But to encourage further development and usage, the government will initially implement standards
borrowed from other countries until finalizing customized guidelines.
Set to be implemented in July, the plan will go through a preannouncement of legislation
for 17 days starting on Friday.
Hwang Hojun, Arirang News.