Google Expands South Korea Presence with Full-Functioning Maps Plans

Google is expanding its presence in South Korea by recruiting a senior partnerships manager to lead the development of full-functioning Google Maps capabilities in the country. The Strategic Partnerships Development Manager will join Google's Global Product Partnerships team and work with private companies, public entities, and technology partners.

The move follows South Korea's conditional approval of Google's export of 1:5,000-scale high-precision map data in February, reversing earlier rejections in 2007 and 2016 over national security concerns. The new partnerships role will negotiate agreements with Korean companies and public entities to source better base-map data, points-of-interest, and address data.

According to Choi Bo-kyung, founder and CEO of geospatial firm A Piece of Map, Google currently receives insufficient map data from local partners for a full-functioning service. She believes that Google would need to source additional data, including traffic, parking, and public transit information, which would require negotiating with and purchasing data from multiple local providers.