"1:5000 is not a high-precision map," Google's claim disputed by academia

[Financial News] The government is expected to hold a 'Survey Results Overseas Export Consultative Body' meeting on the 8th regarding the overseas export of high-precision maps, amid criticism that Google's position in the public opinion battle is different from the facts. 
According to the industry on the 6th, Google Korea posted a blog entry under the name of Chris Turner, Vice President of Policy Knowledge and Information for External Affairs, titled 'Guide to Major Inquiries Related to Google Map Services in Korea'. Google maintains its existing stance that the 1:5000 national base map is not a high-precision map and that high-performance computing at overseas data centers is necessary for navigation services.
Additionally, they are considering purchasing and utilizing government-approved images from domestic partners in a masked state if necessary.
First, Google stated, "The National Geographic Information Institute classifies the 1:5000 map as a 'national base map' and the 1:1000 map as a 'high-precision electronic map'," adding, "Even according to academic and industry standards, the 1:5000 map is classified as 'Low Detail', meaning it is a low-precision map."
However, the industry and academia pointed out that this is not true. The 1:5000 numerical topographic map is already classified as a high-precision map, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport has also stated that the 1:5000 numerical topographic map is classified as a high-precision map.
Regarding Google's claim that it needs to efficiently utilize the massive computing power of data centers distributed worldwide for its route-finding services, an industry official said, "Generally, navigation and route-finding algorithms link traffic information and public transport information to the 'shortcut' algorithm that extracts the shortest path," adding, "It is not a complex task, nor does it require the massive computing power of distributed data centers."
Given that platforms like Naver, Kakao, and T-map, which operate data centers only domestically, also operate navigation services, Google's claim is exaggerated.
There was also criticism that Google's expression of purchasing masked images as an alternative is unclear. Choi Jin-moo, a professor of geography at Kyung Hee University, said, "Based solely on the content in the blog, it is unclear exactly how they intend to purchase and use masked images from domestic partners," adding, "Even if Google cooperates for now, it is uncertain whether they will continue to cooperate on issues related to the domestic spatial information ecosystem and security in the long term."

wongood@fnnews.com Joo Won-kyu Reporter