A self-driving robot, developed by Neubility, a South Korean startup, navigates a road in southern Seoul, in this file photo taken Dec. 14, 2023. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s industry ministry unveiled a plan Tuesday to invest 3 trillion won (US$2.26 billion) in the robot sector with private businesses by 2030, with a goal of supplying 1 million robots to local industries.
The plan for intelligence robots will focus on securing 80 percent of key robot parts locally by 2030, compared with the current estimate of 44 percent, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The country will also promptly lift around 50 regulations to pave the way for the development of the robot industry, and foster 15,000 experts, it added.
Through such efforts, South Korea aims to deploy 1 million robots across various sectors of society, encompassing the agriculture, logistics, defense and medical fields.
Other goals include building robot-friendly infrastructure, as well as setting up ethical guidelines in terms of developing and utilizing robots.
The plan will aim to increase the size of the local robot industry to 20 trillion won in 2030, compared with 5.6 trillion won tallied in 2021, it said.
(Yonhap)
