Researchers from the UK and South Korea have launched a joint effort to draft rules for autonomous driving, the National Academy of Engineering of Korea (NAEK) has announced.
The initiative follows a joint forum with the Royal Academy of Engineering at Prince Philip House in London earlier this week, where policymakers, industry leaders and researchers agreed that the shift to fully driverless, or “no user in charge” (NUiC), systems is forcing a rethink of regulation, liability and industrial structure, according to Korea JoonAng Daily.
At the centre of the discussions was the core question of who is responsible when there is no driver. Britain has already moved ahead on that front by enacting the Automated Vehicles Act in 2024, which established a legal framework for NUiC systems and defines liability for operators.
Korea, by contrast, faces more limited testing environments and structural constraints in its automotive sector, raising concerns about losing early market share, participants said.
Korean experts proposed introducing a legal category of driving service providers – entities that would oversee vehicle operations and services in a driverless ecosystem – shifting the industry from manufacturing toward data-driven, platform-based mobility services.
That transition would also require a new liability model, distributing responsibility among automakers, software developers and service operators rather than individual drivers.
Participants also discussed the role of remote operation centres, the use of accident data to assign responsibility and the scope of human intervention in autonomous systems.
Organisers described the forum as a starting point for deeper bilateral cooperation, with delegations holding additional closed-door meetings and site visits with British institutions and companies to examine real-world applications.
Both sides agreed to expand cooperation across policy, insurance and technology and are considering a follow-up event in Seoul in September, led by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
(Picture: Yay Images)
