Seoul: Google has announced plans to blur sensitive sites on its map and satellite image services in response to national security concerns raised by South Korea. The decision comes as Seoul prepares to make a pivotal decision regarding the overseas transfer of high-precision map data later this week.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Google Korea made the announcement in a blog post, quoting Cris Turner, the company's vice president for government affairs and public policy. Turner emphasized Google's respect for national security and its collaboration with the Korean government to ensure protection. The company confirmed its commitment to blur satellite images as required and is considering acquiring imagery from approved Korean third parties.

This development comes just days before a government panel is scheduled to decide on Google's request to export South Korea's 1:5,000-scale high-precision map data. The panel's decision is set to be announced on Friday. Google had submitted its application to the state-run National Geographic Information Institute (NGII) in February, seeking approval to transfer the map data to its data centers abroad.

The proposal has sparked significant debate due to worries that exporting detailed map data could expose military bases and other sensitive facilities, especially given that South Korea is technically still at war with North Korea. Google has pointed out that the 1:5,000-scale map data is already a public "national base map" approved by the NGII and is used widely by domestic mapping services in Korea.

Google argues that the transfer of the map data is a technological necessity to handle millions of simultaneous user requests globally. The company insists that using its distributed data centers is essential for smooth, real-time processing, especially for those researching travel from outside Korea.

Notably, this is not Google's first attempt to transfer such data; similar requests made in 2007 and 2016 were previously rejected by the South Korean government due to security concerns. The issue has also emerged in trade negotiations between Seoul and Washington, with the map data restrictions being discussed as a potential non-tariff barrier affecting U.S. companies.