Korea FSD Under National Assembly Audit: 5,898 Cars, No Government Safety Test and the Oct 23 Checkpoint (Oct 2026)

TL;DR: Between 6 and 13 Oct 2026, Tesla's supervised FSD in South Korea became a topic at the National Assembly's land and transport committee. Data from the transport ministry (MOLIT) put the cars actually using FSD at 5,898 in September, and the ministry has run no government road-safety tests on FSD cars. At the 8 Oct audit, Tesla Korea's CEO said about 45,000 of roughly 230,000 Teslas in Korea can use FSD and that more than 100 million km have been driven on it. The next checkpoint is the committee's comprehensive audit on 23 Oct 2026. Figures from different sources don't line up neatly, and we flag that below.

Timeline

• Nov 2025: Supervised FSD starts rolling out in Korea (Segye). Tesla Korea later told lawmakers it consulted MOLIT before the launch and offered to cooperate on safety verification and to provide test vehicles (Bloter, citing a document submitted to a lawmaker's office).
• July 2026: An "FSD v14 Lite" version for US-built Model 3 and Model Y on older HW3 hardware is released in Korea, per Segye and Bloter. Tesla Korea says it again sent materials and offered verification before that launch (Bloter).
• 6 Oct 2026: Segye reports, from data that People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jung-jae got from MOLIT, that 5,898 vehicles were actually using FSD as of September, the first exact count. By model: Model X 3,754, Model S 1,497, Cybertruck 647, all US-built with HW4. Segye separately lists 16,198 vehicles using the HW3 "FSD Lite" build. Two incidents with FSD engaged reached Tesla service centres, both at very low speed (3.9 km/h and 2 km/h), with repair bills of about 6.97 million won and 30,000 won. MOLIT's count of government road-safety tests for FSD cars is zero.
• 6 Oct 2026, MOLIT's position: As reported by Segye, US-built cars are imported under the Korea-US FTA on the maker's certification of US safety standards (FMVSS), so the ministry runs no separate Korean test. An official said it would use monitoring and, if a defect appears, run a defect investigation under the Motor Vehicle Management Act.
• 8 Oct 2026: At the audit, Tesla Korea CEO Seo Young-deuk was asked by Democratic Party lawmaker Jang Jong-tae whether Tesla would seek FSD verification through a special-exception provision in the vehicle regulations. He answered that it would "actively cooperate with the transport ministry to get verified" (Yonhap). He said that about 45,000 of about 230,000 Teslas in Korea can use FSD, that cumulative FSD driving has passed 100 million km, and that there were minor accidents but "no significant serious accident" reported to him. He also said Tesla Korea had not formally requested any safety test from MOLIT or related agencies.
• 13 Oct 2026: Bloter reports that Tesla Korea's document offering test vehicles was handed to Jang's office by Tesla's government-relations officer, and that MOLIT promised to answer on FSD system improvements before the 23 Oct comprehensive audit. As of that article, it had not sent a response.
• 23 Oct 2026: Scheduled comprehensive audit by the committee.

Both sides

Critics (lawmakers): Kim said FSD cars are already on Korean roads, accidents are confirmed, and the government has done no separate testing. He asked MOLIT to consider at once whether a minimum Korea-specific verification system is needed, whatever the FTA says (Segye). Jang raised the possibility of using a special-exception rule to verify FSD on China-built cars (Bloter).

Tesla Korea: It says it consulted the ministry, offered test vehicles and verification, and points to 100 million km of driving without a serious accident known to the company (Yonhap, Bloter). Its CEO also said it had made no formal test request.

MOLIT: Says US-built cars are covered by the FTA certification route and promises monitoring and defect action if needed (Segye). Per Bloter, it holds that supervised FSD does not match current Korean safety standards but had no test record, and had not yet shared a detailed position.

Bloter notes that offering test vehicles and formally applying for verification are separate steps, so the CEO's remark and the document do not necessarily conflict.

Numbers that don't match, and why

• 5,898 vs 45,000 vs 53,477. Segye's 5,898 counts cars actually using FSD in September (HW4 US-built models). Tesla Korea's ~45,000 counts cars that can use it. Bloter, citing figures released at the audit, says 53,477 of 238,968 registered Teslas (22.4%) at the end of September could use FSD, and 185,491 could not, of which 183,407 are China-built Model 3 and Y. These measure different things (use vs eligibility) and different dates, so don't add or compare them directly.
• The 16,198 figure. Segye lists it as Lite-build vehicles using FSD, in a separate line from the 5,898. We did not see the underlying MOLIT table and can't confirm whether it is added to or part of other totals.
• 100 million km is Tesla Korea's own statement, not an independent measurement.

What it means for Korean Tesla owners

• Supervised FSD is a Level 2 driver-assistance feature, per Bloter. You must watch the road and be ready to take over.
• Availability depends on build origin: US-built cars are eligible, while China-built Model 3 and Y, which are the bulk of Korean sales, are not, because of certification rules (Segye, Bloter).
• Nothing reported so far changes the rules for existing users. The 23 Oct audit could produce a ministry answer on verification or testing, but the reports don't say it will lead to restrictions or approvals. We will not guess.

Sources: Segye Ilbo (segye.com/newsView/20261006515622, 6 Oct 2026), Yonhap (yna.co.kr/view/AKR20261008193300003, 8 Oct 2026), Bloter (bloter.net, article 675496, 13 Oct 2026). Read 16 Oct 2026. Translated from Korean by us. We did not see the original MOLIT data tables.

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