Google plans to purchase South Korean satellite images that mask sensitive information

As the South Korean government is about to make a decision on whether to allow the transmission of precise map data, the Us-Based Google has indicated its willingness to purchase occluded satellite images within South Korea to allay concerns over national security.

Google posted a blog on Tuesday (August 5th) stating that its mission is to integrate global information and make it accessible to all. Google Maps is one of the products developed based on this concept, aiming to help users efficiently find routes and explore their surrounding environment. Google said that over ten million foreign tourists visit South Korea every year, but they face inconvenience as soon as they enter the country because the path navigation function of Google Maps is only unavailable in South Korea.

Google said that the map data it applied to the South Korean government for external transmission was not a high-precision map at a scale of 1:1000, but a national basic map at a scale of 1:5000, which is secure data that has passed government review. Google pointed out that the safest way to shield classified facilities within South Korea is to directly process the original images. Even if the image is obscured on Google Maps, if the original satellite image is not processed, the relevant image will still remain. Google said that the company is negotiating with the South Korean government on a plan to mask sensitive facilities in satellite images of Google Maps.

It is learned that the South Korean government plans to hold an interdepartmental meeting on Friday (the 8th) to discuss Google's application for the external transmission of the national basic map data. Google twice submitted applications for the external transmission of its map data in 2011 and 2016. However, the South Korean side rejected both applications on the grounds that the map data contained sensitive information such as military bases and that storing it on overseas servers might lead to information leakage.