By Ian Werther in News — 15 Mar 2026

South Korea to regulate automated parking robots, potentially shaping global standards

South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced a plan to revise the Parking Lot Act and the safety and inspection standards for mechanical parking devices to accommodate automated parking robots. The move aims to support the deployment of systems that automatically move vehicles to their parking slots.

A key part of the revision would be to clarify the legal status of parking robots and automatic transfer devices as a type of mechanical parking device. The ministry says the new technology can be protected within Korea’s existing regulatory framework, reducing uncertainty for developers and operators.

Because parking robots can move with high precision, the government plans to allow more flexible parking slot sizing. The current standard for mid-size mechanical parking devices (width about 2.3 meters, length about 5.3 meters) would not necessarily apply to robot-assisted systems, and facilities could be installed without visible lane markings.

This artist's concept features NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, a mobile robot for investigating Mars' past or present ability to sustain microbial life. Curiosity landed near the Martian equator about 10:31 p.m., Aug. 5 PDT (1:31 a.m. Aug. 6 EDT) In this picture, the rover examines a rock on Mars with a set of tools at the end of the rover's arm, which extends about 7 feet (2 meters). Two instruments on the arm can study rocks up close. A drill can collect sample material from inside of rocks and a scoop can pick up samples of soil. The arm can sieve the samples and deliver fine powder to instruments inside the rover for thorough analysis. The mast, or rover's "head," rises to about 6.9 feet (2.1 meters) above ground level, about as tall as a basketball player. This mast supports two remote-sensing science instruments: the Mast Camera, or "eyes," for stereo color viewing of surrounding terrain and material collected by the arm; and, the Chemistry and Camera instrument, which uses a laser to vaporize a speck of material on rocks up to about 23 feet (7 meters) away and determines what elements the rocks are made of. — Representative image for context; not directly related to the specific event in this article. License: Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Safety requirements are being developed as concrete technical standards. They include obstacle-detection features that halt the robot when necessary, a manual-operation option if the robot stalls, and a sensor to detect whether a car’s doors are open before the robot begins to enter beneath a vehicle once the driver has exited.

Officials also note practical benefits: since passengers need not exit or re-enter amid the parking process, vehicles can be positioned more tightly. In narrow spaces, there would be no need to open doors, reducing the risk of door dings. Robot-only zones would restrict pedestrian access to reduce the risk of accidents and theft.

Cars and bikes parked in a street — Representative image for context; not directly related to the specific event in this article. License: CC0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Jeong Cha-gyo, the ministry’s comprehensive transportation policy director, said the revisions are an important first step to letting parking-robot technology take root on the ground and that the government will continue pursuing transport-innovation policies in step with rapid technological change.

For U.S. readers, the development matters because urban centers in the United States face increasing parking pressure and space constraints. Automated parking could offer more efficient use of limited lots, potentially lowering land use and operating costs for cities, while creating opportunities for U.S. robotics suppliers and IPR collaborations in smart-city and infrastructure projects. The Korea-led standards and pilot deployments could influence international norms and supply chains for automated parking technologies and related sensors and safety systems.

The new rules also spotlight Korea as a potential hub for robotics-enabled parking solutions, with domestic players such as HL Robotics already marketing parking robots like Paki. If Korea formalizes these standards and accelerates adoption, U.S. policymakers, manufacturers, and property developers may watch closely for implications on cross-border technology transfer, safety certification, and potential replication in North American markets.

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