The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy kicked off a joint research and development project for self-driving cars.

The two ministries on Thursday launched a technology consulting group in which eight other organizations also participate, including the Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation and the Korea Evaluation Institute for Industrial Technology.

The joint project launched by the two ministries aims to advance autonomous driving technology. 

As part of the project, the science ministry plans to invest eleven-point-eight billion won by 2021 to develop software solutions that enable safe driving in unstructured surroundings as well as simulation software that verifies various autonomous driving functions.

The Ministry of Industry, meanwhile, will invest 17-point-one million won by 2021 to develop artificial intelligence-based computing solutions for self-driving cars and related technology.