South Korea Bans Google From Storing Map Data Overseas

The government of South Korea has denied Google's request to store Google Map data of the country on foreign servers. Google had requested permission from the country in order to provide what it calls “a full range of mapping services”. The permission has been denied however, as the South Korean authorities say that increased public information within the maps could compromise its security against any North Korean threats – such as releasing the locations of military bases. Meanwhile, the domestic companies Naver and Kakao are looking to take advantage of Google's difficulties by improving their own mapping services. Naver is planning the introduction of a “multilingual-based information system” that is designed to improve the service's usability for foreign visitors to the country. Similarly, Kakao has announced that it will “keep advancing its services” allowing it to compete with Google's 3D map capabilities. 

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