Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics still have a way to go to catch up with leading the development of self-driving cars, according to an analyst.

"California recently allowed Samsung Electronics to test its self-driving cars but the same permission had been already given to 20 or so companies before," said Jeremy Carlson, principal analyst at IHS Automotive. "Google has been in the industry for a very long time and Korean companies have yet to collect and analyze more data to be successful in the industry," he added.

He also mentioned the necessity of software innovation, adding that it is one of the most challenging parts for hardware suppliers. "Korean companies have a high level of competitiveness in the fields including OLED displays for use in vehicles, communications and electric vehicle batteries, but software for autonomous driving is a completely different matter and they will have to acquire at least some companies to develop this type of software," he commented.

According to the market research firm, the average annual growth of the Korean advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) market is estimated to reach 29.5% for the period of 2016 to 2023 in terms of the number of vehicles equipped with such systems and the global market is estimated to show an average annual growth of 24.3% during the same period.