A service robot is operating in a restaurant.(Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid a growing presence of service robots in South Korea’s restaurants and public facilities, concerns are mounting over potential hacking risks and the absence of government oversight to ensure their cybersecurity.
According to data submitted by the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) to Rep. Choi Su-jin of the opposition People Power Party, around 17,000 serving robots are currently in operation nationwide, with an estimated 60 percent imported from China.
These robots, widely used in eateries, hotels and public institutions, communicate in real time with external cloud servers to transmit video and location data—creating a potential vulnerability for data leaks or remote tampering.
Despite these risks, no government agency has the legal authority to conduct security inspections or enforce safety standards on serving robots. KISA confirmed that, unlike consumer devices such as robot vacuum cleaners, which it has previously investigated and corrected for data privacy issues, serving robots fall into the category of business-to-business (B2B) products, leaving them outside the agency’s jurisdiction for proactive audits.
“There is no legal basis for KISA to perform preventive security checks or publicly disclose results without the company’s consent,” the agency said.
Choi urged the government to reform regulations to allow for mandatory security testing, improvement recommendations and public reporting on service robots. She cited examples from the United States and the European Union, which have both tightened scrutiny of Chinese-made robots and drones over national security and data sovereignty concerns.
“If we continue to allow service robots to transmit data through Chinese servers, we may be opening a pathway for a ‘Korean-style Big Brother,’” Choi warned. “The government’s security certification system must be expanded to include imported devices, not just domestically produced ones.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
