Google Gains High-Precision Maps, Must Now Pay Fair Network Fees

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has decided to allow Google to export 1:5,000 scale high-precision maps. This decision comes 19 years after Google's first request in 2007. While conditions require obscuring security facilities and processing data only on domestic servers, the move will clearly have significant implications for Korea's map data sovereignty and platform ecosystem. The government had previously prohibited exports of high-precision maps due to concerns about military facility exposure. During that time, domestic companies including Naver, Kakao, and Tmap Mobility have led the spatial data market, but a shift in the competitive landscape is now inevitable.

The government's previously reluctant stance changed due to trade considerations. The United States has intensified trade pressure by classifying digital regulations as non-tariff barriers. Amid discussions on the so-called "Online Platform Act," the map export issue may have been leveraged in tariff and trade negotiations. The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea welcomed the decision on the 27th, stating it "will contribute to strengthening Korea-U.S. cooperation."

High-precision maps are essential infrastructure for future industries including autonomous driving, urban air mobility, and smart cities. If Google, which already dominates search, artificial intelligence, mobile operating systems, and app ecosystems, also secures spatial data, domestic companies will clearly face significantly diminished market positions. This explains projections of potential domestic industry losses reaching up to 197 trillion won over the next decade.

This decision must not be allowed to result in damage to national interests under U.S. pressure and losses for domestic companies. First, Korea needs to refine its negotiation strategy with the United States, encompassing trade, security, and industry as a whole. The "reverse discrimination" issue raised between domestic companies and Google must also be addressed. Google pays no network usage fees, citing the absence of a business establishment (servers) in Korea. While generating over 12 trillion won in annual revenue in Korea, it reports only 360 billion won, resulting in Google Korea paying merely 15 billion won in corporate taxes. This is negligible compared to Naver, which pays over 500 billion won in corporate taxes on approximately 9 trillion won in revenue. YouTube's discriminatory domestic pricing policies must also be corrected. Follow-up measures centered on national interests are urgently needed to ensure the map export approval does not entrench further reverse discrimination against Google.