SEOUL — South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced Friday that Google has successfully fulfilled all state-mandated security conditions required for the overseas export of high-precision 1:5,000-scale maps.

The clearance follows a comprehensive review by a joint government-private consultative body that examined Google's implementation of various technical safeguards. Under the terms of the export permit, Google has removed latitude and longitude coordinate displays for South Korean territory across Google Maps and Google Earth on both web and mobile operating systems. To sustain this, the company developed a localized control layer designed to block coordinate exposure automatically during future software updates.

To address national security concerns regarding military installations, Google will not receive raw aerial or spatial data directly. Instead, security-processed imagery supplied by the National Geographic Information Institute will be routed through a local partner—identified as Tmap Mobility—which will handle data processing entirely on domestic servers. The cooperative framework strictly limits export data to foundational road networks, base maps, and traffic infrastructure, explicitly barring the transfer of personal user locations, search histories, real-time mobility analytics, and HD road maps.

Furthermore, Google has instituted a strict incident-response framework. The company has designated its local country head as the primary map liaison officer, bound by a mandatory one-business-day response window for government-requested corrections. Officials confirmed that failure to maintain these security parameters will result in an immediate suspension or revocation of the export license.

While industry watchers view the decision as a major milestone for expanding global digital mapping services in South Korea, the government emphasized that Google remains fully subject to domestic spatial information regulations and compliance oversight moving forward.

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