With the United States and China competing for leadership in future mobility technologies such as autonomous driving and robotics, South Korea's National Assembly will visit the Namyang Research Center, the research and development hub of Hyundai Motor (005380) and Kia (000270), to assess the country's technological competitiveness. In the third week of the parliamentary audit, lawmakers from both the governing and opposition parties will hear from Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Jaehoon Chang about the state of future mobility technology development and the challenges facing industry promotion. The visit comes as attention turns to whether deliberations on pending future mobility support bills will gain momentum amid intensifying global technology competition.
According to the National Assembly on the 17th, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee will conduct an on-site inspection on the 20th at the Hyundai Motor and Kia Namyang Research Center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, and at the Korea Automobile Safety Research Institute of the Korea Transportation Safety Authority. Chang is expected to greet lawmakers at the Namyang facility and brief them on Hyundai Motor's strategic technologies, including autonomous driving, robotics, hydrogen commercial vehicles and batteries. The lawmakers plan to observe demonstrations of key technologies and test-drive high-performance electric vehicles at the proving ground.
The inspection is designed to verify the competitiveness of the domestic auto industry in future mobility technology and to consider the support measures needed to foster the sector. U.S. and Chinese companies, backed by massive government support, are moving ahead in commercializing self-driving technology, leaving Korean firms behind in the race. Tesla has put robotaxis without steering wheels or pedals on the road, and China's BYD is applying Level 3 autonomous driving technology that requires no driver intervention. Hyundai Motor and Kia, by contrast, are developing Level 2-plus vehicles, which still require driver supervision, with mass production targeted for 2028.
Against this backdrop, bills meant to support autonomous driving development have made no progress. An amendment to the Act on Promotion of and Support for Commercialization of Autonomous Vehicles, which would provide subsidies to operators of fully autonomous vehicles, has been pending at the committee since it was introduced in November last year. In a review report, a committee expert acknowledged the need for the revision, saying that "major countries such as the United States and China are actively pursuing deregulation and large-scale fiscal support to foster the autonomous vehicle industry."
Legislative discussions to nurture the hydrogen industry have also stalled. Meeting with Seoul Economic Daily late last year, Chang stressed that "given that hydrogen is the energy of the near future, the most important thing is to start by building policy support." Yet deliberations have made little headway on an amendment to the Hydrogen Economy Promotion and Hydrogen Safety Management Act, which would specify the targets of government support to invigorate the clean hydrogen industry.
One Democratic Party lawmaker on the committee said the future mobility industry can lead to commercialization and market expansion only when corporate technology development is backed by institutional reform and policy support. The lawmaker added that the committee would work to connect the technical challenges identified on site to the review of related bills and to regulatory improvements.