Tesla FSD Self-Driving System Announced for South Korea Amid Safety Concerns
Tesla Korea announced plans to launch its Full Self-Driving supervised mode in South Korea, but the announcement raises safety and regulatory concerns. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating roughly 2.9 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD after reports of the system running red lights and crossing center lines, and South Korean law currently permits only lower levels of autonomous driving.
What happened
Tesla Korea announced on November 12, 2025, plans to launch its Full Self-Driving (FSD) supervised mode in South Korea, releasing a video of the system navigating urban roads with a test driver keeping light hands on the steering wheel.
Current South Korean law permits only Level 2 autonomous driving features. The system Tesla plans to deploy can change lanes and make decisions at intersections, exceeding these regulatory limits. Existing regulations also restrict the overseas transmission of video and location data collected by autonomous vehicles, conflicting with Tesla's AI architecture that relies on data processing at US servers.
Reported impact
Safety concerns have been raised about the system's reliability. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched a full investigation into approximately 2.9 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD in October 2025, with reports of traffic violations including running red lights and crossing center lines.
Some unpredictable driving behaviors were identified, including ignoring red lights and driving straight through turning lanes, raising concerns about the autonomous system's trustworthiness.
Index analysis
Tesla Korea has recently hired personnel from government and political sectors to navigate regulatory issues, as well as cybersecurity and insurance specialists to address data security and liability risks.
Industry observers note that while FSD technically qualifies as Level 3 or higher autonomy, South Korean road infrastructure and legal frameworks are not yet prepared to support such systems.
Governance controls
The government is considering expanding Level 4 trial operation zones and introducing a regulatory sandbox for autonomous vehicle data. However, current road traffic law limits autonomous functions to Level 2 assistance, and overseas data transmission remains prohibited.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.