The Korean government is moving to designate robotics as a national advanced strategic industry as early as this year. The designation is expected to boost the competitiveness of the Korean robotics industry, as the government will provide various tax benefits to robotics companies and shorten administrative red tape.
Park Sung-taek, deputy minister of trade, industry and energy, said that his ministry will launch a project in the first half of 2025 with the goal of developing a world-class humanoid in 2027. He disclosed this plan during a visit to Aei Robot, a humanoid company at Hanyang University’s ERICA Campus in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.
Currently, there are four industries designated by the Korean government as advanced strategic industries –: semiconductors, secondary batteries, displays, and bio. The Korean government plans to expand the number to five by including robotics. Companies in a hi-tech strategic industry will be given not only tax benefits such as corporate tax cuts, but technical support, a fast-track service for licensing, and special treatments in feasibility studies.
The Korean government sees great growth potential in the robotics industry. In particular, robots with advanced cognitive and judgmental capabilities that are close to human intelligence such as humanoids are expected to dramatically increase productivity, safety, and quality at industrial workplaces.
A global race for humanoids is also heating up. In January, Goldman Sachs forecast the global humanoid market to reach $38 billion in 2035. Compared to its November 2022 forecast ($6 billion), the figure is a six-fold increase in just a year and two months. Tesla, led by Elon Musk, is investing heavily in its humanoid, Optimus, with the goal of mass-producing robots within a few years. Some experts predicted that a one-robot-per-household era, where humanoids serve as personal assistants, is on the horizon.
The Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) plans to designate robotics as a high-tech strategic industry soon after deliberations by the National Advanced Strategic Industry Committee. “The United States and China are leading the way in the humanoid industry with massive preemptive investments, but we also have ample potential in terms of manpower and technology,” Park said, emphasizing that the planned “Humanoid AI Transformation Project” will serve as a focal point for consolidating the capabilities of AI, robots, AI semiconductors, and component companies.
Aei Robot, which Vice Minister Park visited on the day, is a Korean humanoid company that won the Robo Cup, an international humanoid soccer competition, for three consecutive years. It is developing humanoids that can be used in various industrial fields.
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