Tesla Korea and BYD Korea representatives appeared before the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee on October 8 to address questions regarding autonomous driving safety and data privacy issues.
The safety verification of Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature became a focal point of discussion.
In response to a question from Democratic Party lawmaker Jang Jong-tae about whether Tesla plans to utilize special provisions in automotive regulations to verify FSD, Tesla Korea CEO Seo Young-deuk stated, "We will actively cooperate with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to ensure verification can take place."
Tesla Korea is activating the supervisory FSD feature under the exemption from domestic certification for U.S. models, as stipulated in the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Seo noted that of approximately 230,000 vehicles in the country, about 45,000 are equipped with FSD capabilities. He added, "To date, we have accumulated over 100 million kilometers driven with FSD, and while there have been minor accidents, we have not received reports of any significant incidents." However, he clarified that Tesla Korea has not officially requested any safety tests from the Ministry or related agencies.
Regarding a previous incident in October 2024 in Anseong, where a Tesla vehicle caught fire after a collision and the doors failed to open, Seo explained, "There is a manual mechanism inside the vehicle to open the doors."
Concerns were also raised about the potential transfer of personal data from BYD Korea customers to the Chinese government. BYD Korea's passenger vehicle division head, Jo In-cheol, assured, "We will strictly comply with Korean data protection laws and related regulations." He explained that personal data transferred abroad is ultimately sent to the headquarters in Shenzhen, China, and stated, "Only the minimum necessary information is being transferred."
When asked whether the Chinese headquarters has the authority to issue remote commands or restrict functions on domestic vehicles, he responded, "As far as I know, they do not have such authority."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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