Google accused of getting free ride on map data

[THE INVESTOR] Google’s recent attempts to carry South Korea’s geographical information outside the nation is mired in controversy.

Those who oppose Google’s use and storage of the Korean map data overseas argue that sensitive security data, including locations of military facilities, would be exposed to external threats and Google wants to get a free ride by accessing the data for which the government and Korean firms spent trillions of won to develop.

Google, on the other hand, claims that such map data is already open to all -- through satellite map services currently available on local Web portals like Naver and Daum -- so utilizing it overseas, as well as storing it at global data centers, does not pose a serious threat to national security.

In June, Google requested the Korean government, once again after years of failed attempts, for permission to carry a precise 1:5,000 scale map data -- the most detailed among all data currently available in Korea -- outside the country with aims to improve its online mapping service Google Maps.

Local firms and map services providers have been going full throttle to block the Internet goliath from getting access to the full range of Korean map data.

Related article : Blue House, lawmakers oppose Google’s push to export map data

“Google piles up a massive amount of assets for R&D by avoiding taxes across the world, which will widen the technical gap between the internet giant and Korean firms,” said Naver Executive Vice President Yoon Young-chan in a panel discussion held in Seoul on Aug. 8.

His comments also reflected mounting complaints among many local internet companies that Google is exempt from paying corporate taxes.

The Korean laws do not require companies with no fixed facilities to pay corporate tax and Google runs no data centers or servers here.

Google, similar to other global companies such as Microsoft and Oracle, is also not subject to disclosure requirements or external audits.

Bills that try to require the global companies to disclose their profits and conduct external audits have not been passed by the National Assembly.

Many critics express concerns that Google will flex its muscles in the local IT sector if it can get its hands on the geographical data of the nation.

When applying for the right to use the Korean map data in June, the company said it needed the digital geographical data for its future businesses, such as driverless cars and advanced navigation systems.

“Keeping Google from using the map data abroad is reminiscent of the Korean government stopping the iPhone from being shipped to the Korean market in the past. I am very concerned that Korea would lag behind in achieving innovation,” Kwon Beom-joon, a product manager for Google Maps.

The National Geographic Information Institute, together with seven other government offices, was scheduled to hold a meeting to discuss the issue on Aug. 12, with the deadline for a final decision set for Aug. 25. 

The NGII, however, suddenly announced on Aug. 9 that it postponed the meeting indefinitedly.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)