SEOUL, Nov 13 (Reuters) – South Korea’s government said on Friday that Google has removed latitude and longitude coordinates for South Korean territory from Google Maps and Google Earth, one of the security conditions attached to a permit granted in February to export high-precision map data.
The February approval marked a major reversal of the stance Seoul had held for about two decades. South Korea rejected Google’s requests in 2007 and 2016, citing the risk that information on sensitive military and security facilities could be exposed.
Google Street View imagery inside and around all military and security facilities on South Korean territory will also be deleted, an inter-agency press release said.
The government said would suspend or revoke the permit if serious breaches of the conditions occurred.
Google has chosen South Korean navigation company TMAP Mobility to process base map data for its local map service, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing industry sources.
The California-based company is required to rely on domestic partners for security-processed imagery and must load it without modification, according to the government press release.
Google is expected to use data that TMAP processes on domestic servers to government security standards from as early as next year, Yonhap said.
The cooperation is limited to static information such as roads, buildings and addresses. It excludes TMAP users’ personal data, real-time location and driving routes.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Kyu-seok ShimEditing by Ed Davies)
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