The Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) has approved regulatory exemptions for 13 new mobility technologies including aerial drones, enabling testing and validation activities that would otherwise face market entry barriers due to existing legal constraints.
One such exemption now permits the use of drones for forest fire suppression during nighttime hours and beyond the pilot’s line of sight. Conventional aircraft face operational restrictions at night due to poor visibility and while the use of drones has been expanding, certain activities such as dropping or releasing objects, flying at night, beyond the line of sight, and swarm operations have been strictly limited due to safety concerns. By deploying drones equipped with water-carrying payloads to nighttime fire sites, where helicopters cannot safely operate, MOLIT believes it will be possible to curb the spread of fires.
Under the framework, project operators are granted the opportunity to conduct field tests for up to four years (an initial two-year period, extendable by another two years). If the safety and effectiveness of these technologies are proven, the relevant laws and regulations may be revised to facilitate their full-scale commercial launch.
Park Jun-hyung, Director General for Mobility and Automotive Affairs at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said MOLIT will prioritise safety management throughout the demonstration process and continue efforts to ensure that proven technologies are swiftly integrated into the formal regulatory framework.
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Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
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