South Korea stands on the verge of reaching a pivotal decision that could significantly influence both its digital landscape and national security posture. The government is currently evaluating whether to permit global technology giants Google and Apple to transfer high-definition geographic mapping data—at a highly detailed 1:5,000 scale—to servers located outside its territorial boundaries. This type of map data, far surpassing the resolution presently available on these platforms, would provide extraordinarily precise depictions of the nation’s urban fabric, from major thoroughfares and individual buildings to narrow alleyways and minor pathways. The potential approval signals a transformative moment for the digital cartography sector but also presents lingering regulatory and security challenges that have yet to be conclusively addressed.
Earlier this week, the issue came under renewed scrutiny when South Korea’s National Assembly Defense Committee conducted a parliamentary audit involving Google Korea. During this audit, lawmakers interrogated the company’s intentions regarding the use of domestic mapping information, expressing strong apprehension about potential threats to national security and concerns over the erosion of digital sovereignty. The session followed a series of bureaucratic delays: Seoul had postponed its decision on Google’s request to export high-definition mapping data first in May, and again in August, each time citing the need for further review and inter-ministerial consultation.
Amid these deliberations, one policymaker issued a pointed warning about the possible ramifications of allowing extensive mapping data to leave the country. The official cautioned that when Google’s publicly accessible satellite imagery is combined with external data sources, the resulting visualizations might inadvertently reveal sensitive military or strategic installations. Such exposure, the official argued, could compromise national security—an especially grave consideration for South Korea, which remains technically at war with North Korea under the terms of a decades-old armistice agreement. Consequently, the policymaker urged the government to secure explicit legal authority to oversee, monitor, and regulate any future export of high-resolution geographic information.
A South Korean government spokesperson recently told TechCrunch that the administration anticipates releasing its final determination by around November 11, although an earlier announcement remains possible depending on the pace of the review process. This follows a decision by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to extend its internal evaluation period by another sixty days, signaling the complexity of the legal and technical assessments involved.
Google’s efforts to gain permission for high-precision topographical data are not new. In February, the company submitted its third formal request—this time to the Korean National Geographic Information Institute—to utilize maps at the 1:5,000 scale within its global applications and to transfer this data to foreign servers for processing and integration. At present, Google’s mapping platform relies on a comparatively coarse 1:25,000 scale, which, while sufficient for general navigation, lacks the granular street-level detail available in leading domestic applications. Local providers such as Naver Map, T Map, and Kakao Map dominate South Korea’s navigation market precisely because they operate with the finer 1:5,000 scale data, giving them a clear competitive advantage in terms of both accuracy and user experience.
Historical precedent further complicates Google’s case. In both 2011 and 2016, South Korean authorities rejected similar requests from the company. Those denials were grounded in explicit conditions: Google would have to establish a local data center to process geographic information domestically and obscure any strategic or classified facilities, including military or security-related sites. The company declined to fulfill these prerequisites, leaving the impasse unresolved for years.
Following the government’s latest refusal in August, Google reportedly took steps to align more closely with official expectations. The company agreed in principle to blur or distort images of national security sites on Google Maps and Google Earth and began exploring the possibility of purchasing state-approved satellite data from licensed local companies, including T Map’s data providers, to ensure compliance with domestic regulations.
The underlying legal framework governing such matters is the Geospatial Information Management Act, specifically Article 16, which stipulates that any export of government-produced or survey-based geospatial data—including maps, aerial photographs, or satellite imagery—requires approval by the entire Cabinet. Enacted in the 1970s, this legislation continues to serve as the backbone of South Korea’s stringent control of its territorial geoinformation, reflecting a longstanding priority of safeguarding strategic knowledge of the nation’s topography from potential exploitation.
The sensitivity surrounding map data is not unique to South Korea; across the globe, governments in politically volatile regions have taken similar precautions. For example, in 2023, the Israeli military requested that Google disable its real-time traffic data for areas encompassing Israel and Gaza amid escalating conflict, mirroring earlier actions taken in Ukraine following Russia’s 2022 invasion. More than a decade earlier, in 2009, European data protection authorities also pressed Google to remove or anonymize original Street View imagery due to privacy and surveillance concerns.
Apple, meanwhile, has entered the same regulatory crossfire. The company renewed its own appeal in June to export mapping data from South Korea at the 1:5,000 scale, after its initial 2023 request was rejected. Unlike Google, Apple already maintains local servers for its operations within South Korea, a factor that authorities view favorably because it allows quicker governmental intervention in the event of a discovery of sensitive content. Nevertheless, Apple’s new proposal was also postponed last month, with officials delaying the decision on high-resolution data exports until December for further deliberation. Observers have noted that Apple may exhibit greater flexibility than its counterpart, signifying a potential willingness to comply with governmental stipulations such as blurring, masking, or reducing the resolution of sensitive areas. Reports further suggest that Apple intends to employ SK Telecom’s T Map as its primary base for mapping data integration.
Both technology companies share an ambition to advance their map products toward unprecedented precision, layering structural details like individual building outlines, side streets, and minor roads. Such enhancements not only improve everyday navigation for consumers but also pave the way for new technologies including autonomous vehicles, drone-based delivery systems, and sophisticated urban analytics. For South Korea, granting controlled access to high-resolution mapping data could unleash tangible benefits—stimulating tourism, supporting local commerce, and fostering the development of smart city initiatives—while still enabling the government to uphold necessary national security safeguards. Yet critics caution that despite these potential upsides, the primary beneficiaries of such reforms may be the American tech conglomerates themselves, whose global reach and data ecosystems could overshadow domestic innovation.
Currently, Google Maps boasts coverage extending across approximately 250 countries and territories, whereas Apple Maps encompasses slightly more than 200 regions worldwide. This disparity underscores the competitive stakes behind the South Korean government’s pending decision, which may ultimately shape not just the country’s data policies but also the evolving global standards of digital cartography and information governance.
Sourse: https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/15/seoul-weighs-approval-for-google-apple-high-resolution-map-requests/
