Samsung’s Jun Ho Oh to Lead K-Robot Push as Association President, Aiming to Grow Humanoid Ecosystem

Samsung Electronics will serve as the chair company of the Korea AI·Robot Industry Association, which represents the domestic robotics industry. As global competition intensifies, many see this as the start of a full-fledged system in which a major conglomerate steps to the forefront to pool technology and supply-chain capabilities. In particular, Samsung Electronics taking on the chair role is viewed not as a routine rotation, but as a signal that, in a phase of industry expansion, a private sector–led framework for strengthening competitiveness is being put in place.
■ Samsung Electronics to Anchor the Robotics Industry
The Korea AI·Robot Industry Association announced that at its "2026 Regular General Meeting" held on the 25th, it selected Samsung Electronics as the next chair company and inaugurated Jun Ho Oh, head of the Future Robotics Task Force at Samsung Electronics, as its 12th president. The association has more than 350 member organizations, ranging from industrial and service robot makers to component suppliers, system integrators (SI), and research institutions.
Oh is a leading authority in robotics and the key figure behind HUBO, a bipedal humanoid robot. In 2011, he founded Rainbow Robotics and spearheaded the development of humanoid technologies. After Rainbow Robotics was acquired by Samsung Electronics in 2024, he joined the group as head and advisor of the Future Robotics Task Force, overseeing Samsung’s robotics business as a whole.
In his inaugural address, Oh stated, "I will work to ensure that Korea’s robotics industry lays a solid global foundation," adding, "We are fully capable of catching up in the global robotics market. I believe we, too, can enter the global top tier."
■ Stronger Momentum Expected for the K-Robot Industry
Industry insiders expect that Samsung Electronics’ appointment as chair company will significantly strengthen cooperation within the domestic robotics sector. As the market for home service robots, wearable robots, and autonomous mobile platforms moves into a full-fledged growth phase, the participation of a major conglomerate is seen as a catalyst for technology standardization, supply-chain stabilization, and expanded investment.
Samsung Electronics has officially positioned robotics as a core future growth pillar for the group and is accelerating its business push. It has elevated the status of the Future Robotics Task Force by placing it as a formal organization under the Device eXperience (DX) Division, and it is also fleshing out a medium- to long-term strategy centered on humanoid robots.
Samsung Electronics is widely seen as having effectively completed vertical integration based on Rainbow Robotics’ humanoid technologies. By building an "all-in-one" structure that brings together the technological capabilities of its affiliates—such as semiconductors and memory, robot batteries via Samsung SDI, and actuators and electronic components through Samsung Electro-Mechanics—it has created an integrated ecosystem spanning components to finished products. Through this, the company aims to secure a competitive edge in the global robotics market.
Seung Bin Moon, a professor in the Department of Computer Engineering at Sejong University who serves as an auditor for the association, noted, "Now that Samsung Electronics has taken on the role of chair company, it is crucial to grow the overall scale of the industry and to strengthen the association’s functions."
With the recent growth of the global robotics market, including Physical AI, expectations are also rising for greater government support. Kwon Soonmok, head of the AI Machinery and Robotics Division at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, said in his congratulatory remarks, "As global competition over dominance in humanoids and AI robots becomes extremely fierce, robots have now become, together with AI, a core driving force for transforming society and a new growth engine," adding, "We hope the association will actively serve as a bridge to convey the voice of the robotics industry, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources will likewise listen closely to the industry and take the lead in regulatory innovation and support."
jiany@fnnews.com Yeon Ji-an, Lee Dong-hyuk Reporter