Tesla and BYD Korea heads questioned in parliament over FSD, door safety and data
In short
The heads of Tesla Korea and BYD Korea testified as witnesses on 8 October at the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee audit in Seoul. Lawmakers pressed Tesla over Full Self-Driving (FSD) being available only on US-built cars, door-handle safety after a fatal 2024 fire and its near-zero use of temporary licence plates, and pressed BYD over a privacy policy allowing customer data to be transferred to its headquarters in China.
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Tesla Korea CEO Seo Young-deuk (서영득) and BYD Korea passenger car division head Cho In-chul (조인철) appeared as witnesses on 8 October at the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee audit of the Korea Expressway Corporation, the Korea Transportation Safety Authority (KOTSA) and related bodies in Yeouido, Seoul. Asia Economy had reported a day earlier that the committee had also summoned BYD Korea CEO Ding Haimiao (딩하이미야오). Chosun Ilbo reported that the two companies, which both import China-built EVs, hold 31.9% and 7.2% of the imported-car market this year. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
On FSD, Seo said Tesla sold about 89,000 cars in Korea through the end of September, 90% of them Model Y, and that about 45,000 of roughly 230,000 Teslas in the country can use FSD. US-built cars qualify under the Korea-US free trade agreement, while China-built cars have no applicable Korean standard. Democratic Party lawmaker Jang Jong-tae (장종태) called this reverse discrimination against consumers and said the ministry had never verified FSD; Seo acknowledged Tesla had never formally requested a test and said FSD had driven more than 100 million km in Korea with no significant serious accident reported, Newsis reported. Ministry official Park Joon-hyung (박준형) said there is no international FSD standard, partly because Tesla keeps drivers liable for accidents. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
Hwang Un-ha (황운하) of the Rebuilding Korea Party cited the October 2024 Anseong crash in which a Tesla hit a wall and caught fire, and the driver died unable to open the doors after power was cut. Seo said a manual release exists; Hwang said it requires removing a cover and pulling a cord, older models lack it, and Tesla should recall models with flush electric handles as it plans in China. Yonhap identified Hwang as a Democratic Party member, while three other outlets named the Rebuilding Korea Party. [ 3 , 4 , 6 ]
Democratic lawmaker Mo Kyung-jong (모경종) said Tesla accounted for one of 7,766,956 temporary plates issued in five years, a system that lets buyers test a car for up to 10 days and refuse delivery if defects appear. Seo said Tesla does not actively use temporary plates and would actively review the matter. [ 3 , 6 ]
People Power Party lawmaker Kim Eun-hye (김은혜) said BYD told customers who refused consent to data transfer to China that buying a car would be difficult, and raised China's National Intelligence Law and Data Security Law. Cho said BYD would look for a way and would comply with Korea's personal information law. Eom Tae-young (엄태영) noted conflicting Tencent and Alibaba cloud statements; Cho said both providers' servers are limited to Korea. KOTSA chair Chung Yong-sik (정용식) said real-vehicle cybersecurity checks are being prepared. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
Why it matters
Tesla and BYD hold 31.9% and 7.2% of South Korea's imported-car market this year, according to Chosun Ilbo, so the questioning touches a large share of EV buyers. The hearing put on record that Tesla has never formally asked the transport ministry to test FSD and that the ministry has never verified it, and lawmakers asked the ministry and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority to act on FSD standards, door-release rules and BYD data handling.
Key facts
- Tesla Korea CEO Seo Young-deuk (서영득) and BYD Korea passenger car division head Cho In-chul (조인철) testified as witnesses at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee's audit on 8 October. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Seo said about 45,000 of roughly 230,000 Teslas in Korea can use FSD; lawmaker Jang Jong-tae (장종태) put the figure at 53,477 US-built cars (22%) of about 240,000, with 183,407 China-built cars unable to use it. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Seo said Tesla Korea has never formally asked the transport ministry for an FSD test. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Lawmaker Hwang Un-ha (황운하) cited an October 2024 Tesla fire in Anseong in which the driver was trapped and died, and urged a recall of models with flush electric door handles. [ 3 , 4 , 6 ]
- Lawmaker Mo Kyung-jong (모경종) said Tesla accounted for one of about 7.77 million temporary licence plates issued in Korea over the past five years. [ 3 , 6 ]
- BYD Korea's privacy policy allows names, vehicle identification numbers and email addresses to be transferred to its headquarters in China, and customers who refused consent were told purchase would be difficult, lawmaker Kim Eun-hye (김은혜) said. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Lawmaker Eom Tae-young (엄태영) said BYD told his office customer data is stored on Tencent Cloud in Korea, while its website privacy policy names Alibaba Cloud. [ 3 , 6 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Seo Young-deuk of Tesla Korea and Cho In-chul of BYD Korea testified at the committee's audit on 8 October. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Tesla Korea has never formally asked the transport ministry to test FSD. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Only US-built Teslas can use FSD in Korea; China-built cars lack an applicable domestic standard. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Hwang Un-ha raised the fatal 2024 Anseong Tesla fire and called for a recall over door-release design. [ 3 , 4 , 6 ]
- Kim Eun-hye asked whether BYD's headquarters could refuse a Chinese Communist Party request for data. [ 3 , 4 ]
- BYD gave conflicting statements on whether Korean customer data is stored on Tencent Cloud or Alibaba Cloud. [ 3 , 6 ]
Still unclear
- How many Teslas in Korea can use FSD. Seo cited about 45,000 of 230,000, lawmaker Jang 53,477 of about 240,000, and Asia Economy before the hearing 47,458 of 229,311.
- Whether BYD Korea CEO Ding Haimiao attended. Asia Economy reported he was summoned; reports on the hearing mention only Cho In-chul for BYD.
- Hwang Un-ha's party. Yonhap identified him as Democratic Party; Kyunghyang, Newsis and Chosun Ilbo named the Rebuilding Korea Party.
- Whether BYD's headquarters can send remote commands to cars in Korea. Kyunghyang reported Cho avoided a direct answer.
- What Seo agreed to 'actively review'. Kyunghyang tied it to giving buyers a choice over delivery damage; Chosun Ilbo tied it to temporary plates.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- 7 Oct: Asia Economy reports the committee has summoned the heads of Tesla Korea and BYD Korea. [ 1 ]
- 8 Oct: Newsis reports the Tesla and BYD Korea heads will appear at the audit over FSD and repair networks. [ 2 ]
- 8 Oct: Kyunghyang Shinmun reports the questioning over data transfers to China and FSD discrimination. [ 3 ]
- 8 Oct: Yonhap reports on the audit, including the EV witness questioning. [ 4 ]
- 8 Oct: Newsis reports Seo's FSD remarks and the ministry's response. [ 5 ]