SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea has rejected Google’s request to use local mapping data in the company’s global maps service in a highly-awaited deliberation that divided the country for months.
The land ministry said Friday that concerns about national security outweighed benefits from exporting the country’s mapping data to Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc.
South Korea, facing the overt threat of rival North Korea, bars exporting local mapping data to foreign companies that do not operate domestic data servers.
Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., handles its maps service at data centers outside South Korea. The restrictions have limited the usefulness of Google Maps within South Korea, since the app cannot offer driving or walking directions.
The government had proposed granting permission to Google to use local mapping data for Google Maps if the company would blur sensitive information on South Korean military facilities on its satellite map.