Google Maps in South Korea: coordinates removed, but the map upgrade is not a launch yet
The development is not yet a new navigation service available to everyone. On 13 November, South Korea’s government reviewed compliance with the security conditions attached to Google’s 27 February permit to export high-precision maps at a scale of 1:5,000.[1]
The inter-agency release says removal and exposure restrictions for geographic coordinates of South Korean territory have been implemented on the global web and mobile versions of Google Maps and Google Earth.[1]
Reuters corroborates the government announcement and says Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.[2]
## The controls go beyond coordinates
According to the official document, Google developed a control layer dedicated to South Korean territory, with safeguards to block application-update distribution if coordinate exposure is detected.[1]
This is not the removal of coordinates from every map worldwide, nor the deletion of geographic data as such.
The release also distinguishes completed measures from subsequent requirements affecting imagery of military and security facilities.[1]
## Domestic processing, with imagery replacement still ahead
The document records an agreement signed on 31 August to receive imagery security-processed by the National Geographic Information Institute through a domestic partner.[1]
Google must replace imagery on its services as soon as it receives the domestically processed material, without modifying it.[1]
The document also provides for a domestic partner to process map data on servers in South Korea and limits supply to base-map and transport-network data, such as roads, lanes and speed limits.[1]
A contract and a replacement requirement do not prove that all material has already been transferred or that every feature is operational.
## The permit remains conditional
The government says it will continue monitoring exports, coordinate restrictions and incident-response arrangements, and may suspend or revoke the permit for serious non-compliance.[1]
Reuters also reports that constraint: this is not an unconditional authorisation.[2]
The editorial focus is who controls each stage of the data lifecycle: collection, processing, transfer and display. For users, the separate test is whether functions are actually available. This report documents a regulatory milestone; it does not certify a launch date or a navigation test carried out by this newsroom.
## Sources
[1] https://www.korea.kr/common/download.do?fileId=198590051&tblKey=GMN — Governo coreano, comunicato interministeriale 13 novembre
[2] https://www.reuters.com/5f374b32b07b/world/south-korea-says-google-has-removed-korean-coordinates-maps-under-export-permit-2026-11-13 — Reuters, Google Maps South Korea, 13 November