In particular, the government has amended the 'Smart City Act' twice (1st in July 2018, 7nd in April 2) in order to ease and eliminate regulations that hinder the introduction of innovative services to be implemented in smart cities. Through this, special cases related to 2019 new industries, such as shared vehicles and energy, were introduced within the smart city National pilot smart city, and the basis for the establishment of a public-private SPC was prepared, laying the groundwork for the smooth promotion of private-centered sustainable smart city projects.
However, it is true that due to the nature of the smart city industry, which is a convergence and new industry, it is difficult to accurately grasp all regulations related to new technologies or services and to collectively eliminate regulations through rapid revision of laws. To respond to this, the government introduced a regulatory sandbox system through the amendment of the'Smart City Act' (November 2019) so that businesses within smart cities can demonstrate or commercialize innovative technologies and services to their heart's content.
First of all, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport directly or at the request of the head of the local government having jurisdiction over the national pilot smart city (Sejong/Busan), the smart city challenge (Bucheon/Incheon/Daejeon) ), all or part of the smart city business area can be designated as a smart regulatory innovation district, which is a spatial range to which regulatory sandboxes can be applied. Businesses who wish to receive temporary permits or special cases for demonstration in the Smart Regulatory Innovation Zone can apply for project approval from the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport after establishing a business plan. And, after consultation with the head of the local government, it is decided whether to approve the project plan after deliberation by the National Smart City Committee. If approved, the project can be implemented for four years, and can be extended within two years only once.
On the other hand, various safety devices have been prepared to prevent safety hazards, as the relevant regulatory exceptions eliminate existing regulations for a certain period of time. First of all, it is necessary to consider the impact on the public's health, safety, and environment as an approval standard, and when it is necessary, conditions regarding environment, safety, and health can be provided when it is approved. (危害) In case of concern, necessary measures such as business suspension, corrective orders, and cancellation of approval may be taken. In addition, the business operator must purchase liability insurance or devise a compensation plan 30 days before the project is started, and in the event of actual human and material damages, the business operator is liable for damages unless it proves that there is no intention or negligence.
Lastly, if the necessity to revise the law on regulation is recognized regardless of whether the project is over or not, the head of the related agency should start to reorganize the law.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport selected 9 projects in the Sejong and Busan regions through the National pilot smart city regulatory sandbox activation project contest in September last year and supported the cost of establishing a business plan. In addition to the existing 18 tasks, we plan to support demonstration through a new contest for services scheduled to be introduced in the future National pilot smart city.
Through this regulatory sandbox system, it is expected that many innovative services in the smart city will be created by trying out services that have not been started due to regulations. In the future, it is expected that through the improvement of regulations, innovative services that citizens will be able to experience anywhere in the country in addition to the areas where regulatory sandboxes are applied. [Security News_ Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, Department of Urban Economy, Ikjin Lee]