electric cars out and about. Seoul's land and transport ministry unveiled

its grand plan aimed at boosting the country's high-tech industries.

Hwang Hojun with the details. The Transport Ministry unveiled on Thursday

a Pre-emptive Regulation Modification Plan to follow up with the government's efforts

to cultivate growth in high-tech industries through deregulation.

"This plan will not only jump start the stagnated economy but also act as a catalyst to boost

the process of developing new technologies, including drones and self-driving vehicles."

Until now, drone usage has been limited to few areas such as agriculture, aerial filming,

and flight training. But once the plan is implemented, as long

as it doesn't jeopardize national security, the drone industry will be able to expand

its scope to all sectors including the service and entertainment industries.

The plan also abolishes the minimum capital rule for businesses using drones weighting

25 kilograms or less. Next -generation vehicles will also benefit

from the plan, with a significant move on compact electric cars such as Renault-Samsung's

Twizy. Such vehicles for just one or two passengers

had legal limitations for on-road operations as they lacked domestic legal standards.

But to encourage further development and usage, the government will initially implement standards

borrowed from other countries until finalizing customized guidelines.

Set to be implemented in July, the plan will go through a preannouncement of legislation

for 17 days starting on Friday.

Hwang Hojun, Arirang News.