South Korea to invest $1.7 billion by 2030 to foster humanoid robot ecosystem

South Korea is launching a significant initiative to bolster its domestic humanoid robot sector, pledging 2.3 trillion won (approximately $1.7 billion) by 2030. This ambitious plan includes the direct purchase of 1,080 locally manufactured humanoid robots, which will be distributed to universities and research institutions to stimulate demand and accelerate development.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced the strategy on the 27th during the second Fiscal Operations Strategy Council. The investment aims to establish production systems for specialized humanoid robots across 10 key industries and significantly increase the domestic component localization rate from the current 45% to 80%.

Beyond humanoid robots, the government will also allocate an additional 2.8 trillion won for physical AI demonstration projects in eight core areas. These include autonomous manufacturing, agriculture, construction, logistics, ports, care services, and defense. Furthermore, the initiative will support 400 companies annually in emerging sectors like new security, pharmaceuticals, climate technology, and K-consumer goods, with potential funding of up to 10 billion won per company over five years.

In a related move to streamline support for small and medium-sized enterprises, the government has consolidated 671 support programs across 22 ministries into 232 projects, projecting a saving of approximately 4 trillion won based on next year's budget.

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The government plans to purchase 1,080 domestic humanoid robots to support universities and research institutions.