South Korea Postpones Decision To Request Google Map Data Export

Google has not been able to export map data from Korea (photo: dock. unsplash)

JAKARTA The South Korean government decided to postpone its decision at Google's request to export data abroad. This decision was distributed on Friday, August 8, 2025.

South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Infrastructure, and Transport extended the decision deadline to 60 days. During this duration of time, Google was asked to find a solution that could address the required safety concerns.

This is the second delay set by the local government. Google submitted this application in February 2025 to transfer data on a scale of 1:5,000 overseas, but the agency extended its decision deadline in May.

Overall, this is the third rejection Google has received. The tech company has submitted exports of high-precision data maps from South Korea in 2007 and 2016, but both have been rejected.

The reason given is still the same, namely the Korean government which is worried about the security of its public data. In addition, the government is worried that details of the location of military facilities and other sensitive places will be exposed if their data is transferred to foreign servers.

Google had denied this concern. The tech giant claims that there are no safety concerns with their mapping data. Google also confirms that the data they use is public and has gone through security reviews.

However, to get approval, Google will continue to follow the direction of the Korean government. Currently, they are in intensive discussion with the local government to meet the requested security requirements.

This problem is also one of the sensitive issues in trade relations between South Korea and the US. As a result of the map's data restrictions, navigation services such as Google Maps and Apple Maps are experiencing obstacles.

Google also acknowledges this. They say that the restrictions imposed by the Korean government make Google services unfavorable in the country. This is claimed to cause inconvenience to users, including tourists.