K-autonomous driving: first test stage confirmed
The commercialization of Korea-style autonomous driving has officially begun in Gwangju. Hyundai Motor and Kia were selected as core operators for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Autonomous Driving Demonstration City Project, positioning them at the center of the country’s first citywide autonomous-driving pilot.
This is a large-scale program, not a simple tech showcase: 200 Level 4 driverless vehicles will be deployed across Gwangju Metropolitan City to test and validate autonomous-service models in real urban conditions.
The initiative is Seoul’s strategic response to the global race to build autonomous-driving demonstration cities — from Las Vegas and San Francisco in the U.S. to multiple Chinese cities. By developing standards and updating regulations alongside the trials, the government aims to set the structural foundation for Korea’s autonomous-driving ecosystem rather than run a short-term proof of concept.
Dual selection signals end-to-end role: from manufacturing to platform
Under the K-autonomous driving cooperation model, Hyundai Motor and Kia were chosen in a dual capacity: one as the vehicle manufacturer and the other as the mobility-platform operator. The selection recognizes both their custom autonomous-vehicle production capabilities and their AI-driven software expertise.
Their mandate covers the full stack—from supplying vehicles to dispatch and operations control—demonstrating an integrated capability that sets them apart from competitors.
The base vehicle for the deployment will be the Ioniq 5. Hyundai and Kia have already accumulated production experience for autonomy-focused vehicles through contract manufacturing of Ioniq 5–based robo-taxis for Motional and Waymo.
In Gwangju, that experience will be applied to add sensors tuned to the autonomous stack, integrate vehicle-control systems, and enable over-the-air (OTA) updates and other combined capabilities required for large-scale unmanned operations.
Shucle platform to manage Gwangju using experience from 33 municipalities
For the transport-platform role, Hyundai Motor and Kia will deploy Shucle, their AI-based mobility service platform. Shucle is a proven system already operating across 33 local governments and more than 82 service areas nationwide.
The platform leverages AI and real-time traffic data to generate optimal routes, handle user ride requests and dispatching, manage boarding and alighting, and monitor the entire fleet to ensure safe operations.
For this demonstration, Shucle will be upgraded into an autonomous-service–specialized call-and-dispatch system. The enhanced platform will centrally manage 200 Level 4 driverless vehicles across Gwangju, evolving beyond conventional manned mobility operations.
The large operational dataset accumulated since 2019 will be a key asset for validating and scaling the service.
