South Korea's self-driving delays face scrutiny over domestic-industry protection

An MBC report contrasts overseas approvals with Korean regulatory barriers, including a lawmaker's account of being told to wait for domestic manufacturers.

Channel: MBCNEWS · South KoreaStory of November 13, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of MBCNEWS's most watched videos since yesterday, with 933,813 views.

MBCNEWS: The news division of MBC, a publicly owned South Korean broadcaster. 6.2M subscribers and 32B views.

[분석 이 뉴스] 미·중·일·유럽 다 풀었는데.. 한국만 '갈라파고스' 위기 (2026.11.12/MBC뉴스)

Next story: Cabbage brined beside toilet reached supermarkets, Korean report says

Should South Korea wait for its own carmakers before opening the road to more advanced driving technology? Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Han-gyu says an official told him that national interests required exactly that approach.

His account is central to a report by South Korea's MBC News, part of Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, examining whether regulatory delays risk isolating the country's automotive industry as other markets move ahead.

The report opens with crowds inspecting Tesla's Cybercab at its first public display in South Korea. There is no steering wheel and no set of pedals. Visitors describe their surprise and anticipation at the prospect of riding without a driver.

Reporter Lim Gyeong-ah then turns overseas. The report says paid Cybercab service began in Austin, Texas, in September, and shows passenger footage. Separately, it describes approvals for Tesla's Full Self-Driving system in the Netherlands and other European Union countries, alongside policy changes in Japan and the expansion of driving-data collection by Chinese electric-vehicle manufacturers. The Cybercab and systems used in privately owned cars are distinct parts of the report's comparison, not interchangeable technologies.

At home, the report says roughly eight in ten imported Teslas cannot use FSD because of regulatory barriers, despite South Korea being a major market for the company. It displays findings that the transport ministry has no FSD testing or verification record and no future verification plan.

Kim says an official he met argued that the country should wait because domestic manufacturers had not yet introduced autonomous-driving vehicles. That is the lawmaker's account of the conversation, rather than an announced government policy.

The report also examines delays in Hyundai Motor Group's autonomous-driving roadmap. In an archival clip, executive chairman Euisun Chung acknowledges that the company is somewhat behind and says it will focus on safety. The report's closing question is whether waiting protects the domestic industry or leaves it further removed from developments abroad.

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The numbers

The report drew about 934,000 views since yesterday, the largest total among the new South Korean news videos featured today.

subscribers

6,210,000

no significant change in the last 7 days

total views

31,826,970,646

views per day

22,407,513

typical day: 19,530,230

the video

views

933,813

likes

3,824

comments

2,720

days online

1

As of November 13, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.