Discussions were held in the National Assembly regarding the need to redefine the role of road safety infrastructure in response to the proliferation of autonomous driving technology. The necessity of establishing a 'universal safety net' that extends beyond vehicles to include pedestrians and vulnerable road users was emphasized.

The Korea C-ITS Industry Council held a forum titled 'Digital Infrastructure Policy Tasks for Safer Autonomous Driving' at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 1st. Approximately 150 people from the government, industry, and academia attended the event.

This forum was hosted by Representative Song Ki-heon of the Democratic Party of Korea and co-organized by the Center for Global Policy Empirical Research (CODIT), the Korea C-ITS Industry Council, and the Korea ITS Society.

The participants shared the view that next-generation intelligent transportation systems (C-ITS) and vehicle-to-object communication (V2X) should be expanded beyond supporting autonomous driving to become road safety infrastructure.

V2X is a communication technology that exchanges information between vehicles, between vehicles and infrastructure, and between vehicles and pedestrians, and is utilized for traffic situation awareness and accident prevention. During the forum, discussions continued on the need to develop this technology into a safety network that includes vulnerable road users.

In addition, it was suggested that existing transportation infrastructure should be transformed into a data-based platform. The explanation is that it is necessary to establish a digital infrastructure that integrates and manages road environment and vehicle information.

The government shared the direction for building digital road infrastructure. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it plans to promote the transition to an AI-based ITS cloud by 2030 and to specify data provision methods and service models.

The industry raised the need for data standardization and improvements to demonstration-based infrastructure. Autonomous driving companies cited the lack of a data supply system linked to actual vehicles and explained that policy design centered on real-world usage environments is necessary.

Experts expressed the opinion that a policy shift is necessary, moving away from discussions centered on telecommunications technology toward a data platform-centric approach. They also emphasized the need for an integrated approach that combines technology, infrastructure, and services.

The organizers plan to continue policy proposals and follow-up discussions building on this forum. They will expand cooperation with relevant ministries, such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the National Police Agency, and review measures for institutional improvements and securing the necessary budget.

The Korea C-ITS Industry Council announced that it plans to continue discussions on related policies through additional policy debates and regular proposals based on the results of the discussion.