South Korea approved a request from Alphabet (GOOGL.US) on Friday to export the country's high-precision map data to overseas servers, marking a significant policy reversal after two decades of refusal. This decision clears a path for the U.S. tech giant to enter a market long dominated by local applications.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated in a release that the approval was granted "on the condition that strict security requirements are met." Conditions include blurring military installations and other security-sensitive facilities, while restricting the display of latitude and longitude coordinates of Korean territory on products such as Google Maps and Google Earth. Additionally, Alphabet must process map data on local servers and is only permitted to export data related to government-pre-approved navigation and directional services.

The ministry further noted that the South Korean government retains the right to request revisions to the maps, and Alphabet is required to establish a security incident prevention framework to address potential emergencies.

The protracted dispute between Alphabet and the South Korean government dates back to 2007. South Korea is one of the few countries where Google Maps does not function fully, a situation that has allowed local firms like Naver and Kakao to dominate the digital map service sector. For years, South Korean authorities cited the "Mapping Act" and national security concerns, refusing to allow high-precision geographic data to be stored on overseas servers. Officials worried that such detailed information, if exploited, could compromise defense preparations against North Korea and military secrets.

Although Alphabet launched a major public relations campaign and resubmitted a formal application in 2016, the request was firmly rejected by the South Korean government due to the company's refusal to establish a local data center and to obscure sensitive facilities on satellite maps.

However, by 2026, following multiple rounds of closed-door consultations, the two parties reached a critical technical compromise. It is widely believed that the policy shift was driven not only by technical concessions but also by increasing trade and diplomatic pressure. Notably, the U.S. Trade Representative's office had previously repeatedly publicly criticized South Korea's map data restrictions as constituting a form of non-tariff trade barrier.