South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has once again delayed its decision on Google’s request to export local map data. The ministry said on Tuesday that a final ruling will be made only after the company provides additional documents.
In a statement, the ministry confirmed that its National Geographic Information Institute has given Google 60 business days, until 5 February 2026, to submit the required materials before a decision is finalised.
This is not the first time the request has faced hurdles. South Korea had earlier rejected similar applications from Google in 2007 and 2016, citing national security concerns.
Google, whose parent company is Alphabet, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In September, the company had said it would comply with South Korea’s security-related requirements, ensuring that coordinate information within the country would not be visible to users either inside or outside South Korea. Google had also agreed to blur images of security facilities.
However, the ministry stated that Google has not yet filed an updated application reflecting these commitments. It added that inconsistencies between the company’s public statements and its formal submissions were making the review process difficult.
Google is currently seeking approval to export South Korea’s 1:5,000-scale map data, which offers a precision of 50 metres per centimetre. The company says this is the same level of detail used by domestic mapping platforms run by Kakao Corp and Naver. At present, Google operates with 1:25,000-scale data, which it says does not provide reliable navigation accuracy.
The ongoing negotiations with Google are taking place as South Korea and the United States continue discussions on tariff and security agreements between the two allied nations.
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