On February 27, 2026, South Korea officially declared its approval of Google's application to export the nation's high-definition map data to servers located abroad. Historically, South Korea had consistently turned down analogous requests from Google, citing national security concerns as the primary reason. This approval signifies a notable pivot in policy, breaking a two-decade-long streak of rejections and paving the path for Google to make inroads into a South Korean market that has been predominantly ruled by local apps.
