Seoul Unveils Wirelessly Charged Electric Vehicle

SEOUL, South Korea, March 16, 2010 - A wirelessly charged electric vehicle went into service March 9 at the
Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology President Suh Nam-pyo
attended a ceremony unveiling the vehicle held at the Park.

Known as on-line electric vehicle (OLEV), the vehicle powered by
electricity from an electrical charging strip planted about 5cm under the
road surface, is in pilot operation at the theme park. The Seoul Grand Park
has replaced the shuttle trains (called "elephant train") that run on diesel
with the eco-friendly OLEV.

The OLEV developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and
Technology (KAIST) is charged wirelessly over a 400-meter long stretch of
electrical strip and runs an additional 400 meters on the charged battery.
The special electrical strip creates a magnetic field that generates magnetic
force. The magnetic force is sent wirelessly to the vehicle and converted
into electricity, which is then used to power the vehicle. At the Seoul Grand
Park, the OLEV will service a 2.2 kilometer-long circular route.

Tests have shown that the magnetic field used in the system poses no
health risks. By using segmentation technology that provides electricity in
sections, the amount of magnetic field generated is minimized. During a
month-long test run in February the magnetic field generated was measured at
below the international standard of 62.5mG, the city said.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to introduce OLEVs as part of its
public bus transportation system. With buses responsible for meeting about 30
percent of the transportation demand and median bus lanes in place in 25
areas totaling 90.2 kilometers, wirelessly charged electric buses are an
attractive green alternative for Seoul.

The city government plans to lay the foundation for the introduction of
OLEV this year. In an effort to improve air pollution and curb greenhouse gas
emissions, the city plans to deploy green cars in all its public
transportation systems, including taxis and buses, by 2020. The city
government's fleet of official cars will also be replaced by green cars.

    Division in Charge
     Air Quality Management Division:
     Yoonjin Cho
     yoonjin@seoul.go.kr
     Tel: +82-2-2115-7796

    Press Relations
     International Press Relations Team
     press@seoul.go.kr
     Tel: +82-2-3707-8768, +82-2-6321-4055

    Herald Media:
     Jiro Kim
     jiro@heraldm.com
     Tel: +82-2-727-0073 / +82-10-3763-1080

Yoonjin Cho, +82-2-2115-7796, yoonjin at seoul.go.kr; International Press Relations Team, +82-2-3707-8768 or +82-6321-4055, press at seoul.go.kr; Jiro Kim, +82-2-727-0073 or +82-10-3763-1080