(Ministry of Government Legislation) ● Updated Law: Act on the Promotion of and Support for Commercialization of Autonomous VehiclesWhat it does: Allows broader collection and use of video data for autonomous vehicle research and testingTook effect: June 18South Korea has eased restrictions on the collection and use of video data for autonomous vehicle testing in an effort to improve the performance and safety of self-driving technologies.Under the revised law, operators of autonomous vehicles that have received temporary permits for testing or research purposes can collect video footage containing personally identifiable information and use the data without anonymizing it or using a pseudonym.The exemption is intended to facilitate the development of autonomous driving systems. However, safeguards have also been strengthened. The use of collected footage for purposes unrelated to autonomous vehicle research and testing is prohibited, and operators must implement technical and administrative measures to prevent data leaks.The law also requires video data to be destroyed after five years. The requirement applies to footage collected before the law took effect, meaning any video data that has already been retained for more than five years must be deleted.Stronger safety oversight for products purchased from overseas retailers● Updated Law: Framework Act on the Safety of ProductsWhat it does: Expands government authority to inspect and restrict unsafe products purchased directly from overseas retailersTook effect: June 3South Korea has strengthened consumer protections against potentially unsafe products purchased directly from overseas retailers.Under the revised law, the government can conduct safety inspections to determine whether products sold through overseas online retailers comply with Korean safety standards and regulations.If a product is found to violate legal requirements or pose a risk to consumers' lives, health or property, the head of the relevant government agency can request that the Korea Customs Service return, destroy or take corrective measures regarding the product.Authorities can also recommend that overseas e-commerce platforms remove product listings if a product is found to be hazardous or likely to cause consumer harm, and can publicly disclose such actions.Legal basis established for drone use in disaster response● Updated Law: Act on Promotion of Utilization of Drones and Creation of Infrastructure ThereforWhat it does: Establishes a legal framework for using drones in disaster prevention, response and recoveryTook effect: June 3South Korea has established a legal foundation for the wider use of drones in disaster management, including efforts to prevent, respond to and recover from large-scale disasters such as wildfires.The revised law specifies that the central and local governments should make efforts to utilize drones throughout all stages of disaster management under the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety.It also provides a legal basis for financial support to promote drone deployment in the public sector, with the goal of improving disaster response capabilities and accelerating recovery efforts.In collaboration with the Ministry of Government Legislation, The Korea Herald publishes a monthly feature introducing recently updated South Korean laws. The ministry’s Easy Law service (https://www.easylaw.go.kr/CSM/Main.laf) provides accessible summaries of Korean laws categorized by topic in English and 11 other languages: Arabic, Bengali, Cambodian, Simplified Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, Mongolian, Nepali, Thai, Uzbek and Vietnamese. — Ed.