Tesla Korea has asked the South Korean government to let China-made Teslas use Full Self-Driving (Supervised). The company filed for a special exemption with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) on Oct. 22, 2026, Korea JoongAng Daily and ChosunBiz reported this week. Of the 238,968 Teslas registered in Korea at the end of September, 183,407 are China-made Model 3 and Model Y cars that can't use FSD today.
The legal question
The filing relies on Article 114-2 of the ministry's vehicle safety rules, which lets the minister approve a new "device" that beats existing standards or is needed for safety. That provision has so far covered physical equipment such as lighting and pedal-misapplication guards. "There has been no case of the exemption being applied to a software update," a ministry official told JoongAng Daily. "We need to review the legal issues."
A technical review by the Korea Automobile Testing and Research Institute is also required, and Tesla's application reportedly did not include the data needed for it, JoongAng Daily said. The ministry plans more talks with Tesla.
Why only U.S.-built cars get FSD
Korea's steering rules require hands on the wheel and driver-initiated lane changes, which FSD doesn't meet. U.S.-made Teslas can run FSD under a Korea-U.S. FTA provision recognizing U.S. safety standards. ChosunBiz put the total number of Teslas in Korea that can't use FSD at 185,491, or 77.6%.
New rules on the way
MOLIT is drafting rules based on the UN's R171 driver-assistance standard. Its latest "series 02" amendment, expected to take effect early next year, allows system-led driving on ordinary roads, but hands-off city driving, a core FSD feature, is still outside it, ChosunBiz reported. Separately, a Seoul court rejected an FSD refund suit by Korean owners on Oct. 29.
