"The Next Growth Engine After K-Semiconductor Is K-Robot... The Time Will Come When the United States Relies on Korea" [FN Insight]

[Financial News] Professor Han Jae-kwon of Hanyang University, whom Financial News met on the 24th, said, "A gap opens up in the process of the United States and China fighting. We need to seize that gap," adding that "for Korea, which has a manufacturing base, this is actually an opportunity."

Professor Han assessed the global landscape in physical AI. As expected, the United States ranks first and China second. He said, "The United States is strong in software, while China is strong in hardware." He added, "The United States is overwhelmingly better at building reliable robots like Boston Dynamics, but China cannot be matched when it comes to producing them cheaply and quickly."
When asked about Korea's position, he compared it to "the United States, which excels in core subjects, and China, which excels in memorization-heavy subjects," and replied that "Korea is good at everything across the board." He cautioned, however, that "there is a big gap in scores between the first and second place countries," and stressed, "Rather than obsessing over whether we are third or fourth, I hope we can look at this like a marathon. We need to see whether we are leading the second-tier group and how much the gap has narrowed."
His strategy was clear. "As someone working in the field, I hope we can team up with the leader," he said. "The United States has lost much of its manufacturing base and lacks parts. We should tell them that we can become part of their supply chain." He explained, "The country that once produced one warship a day during World War II can now barely repair ships." He added that "humanoids have the same structure as cars, assembled from batteries, computers, sensors, and actuators."
As a model case, he pointed to Boston Dynamics. He said, "It was the No. 1 company in robotics, but it was treated like a money pit. Once ownership shifted to Hyundai Motor Company, its potential exploded." He added, "It has a factory as a customer, and behind it there is a supply chain of first-tier and second-tier vendors. That is a tactical advantage that other U.S. companies do not have."
He also emphasized the need for self-reliance. He said, "Atlas cannot cross the border. It is treated almost like a strategic asset on the level of nuclear weapons." He added, "We cannot wait for charity. We need something of our own to gain bargaining power."
He welcomed the government's three mega-projects, saying, "At last, we have a strategy." He noted that although some criticize the investment scale as unrealistic, "from the field's perspective, the investment amount is actually too small." He asked rhetorically, "When we spent one-tenth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on the Gyeongbu Expressway, people said we were crazy. But didn't that road make the blood of the Korean economy flow?"

He identified data as what Korea needs most right now. Professor Han said, "All human movement is data, and all of it is money, but we do not realize it." He proposed a government-led "data purchase program" in which the state would buy citizens' work videos. He explained, "Movements that create added value are valuable data. If we record factory workers' motions with body cameras, we can retarget them for robot training data."
He said the focus should be on small business owners rather than large corporations. "Large companies will have difficulty because of security concerns," he said. "But there are definitely self-employed people who would say, 'I have no successor, so I would be happy if my skills lived on in a robot,' or 'If I can make 2.2 million won a month instead of 2 million won, why wouldn't I do it?'" He also cited ironing motions at a laundromat as an example. "If China builds a data factory in an authoritarian way, then we, as a democratic country, should lead the AI Revolution with the power of our citizens," he said. "Robots that learn the dexterity of Korean workers will become better robots."
He repeatedly stressed the importance of building an ecosystem. "In the end, it is an ecosystem battle. The company that makes the final robot may look like the main character, but every part supplier is also a key player," he said. "There are motor, bearing, ball screw, machining, and plating companies in every industrial complex, but they are struggling. We should not let them fade away as old industries. We need to revive them."
To concerns that robots will take jobs, he urged people to look at the reality on the ground. He said, "In the small and medium-sized manufacturing firms that make up 95 percent of the sector, and in businesses with fewer than five employees, there are no workers. The average age has long since passed the 50s." He added, "This is not a case of replacement. These were places that were already going to disappear, and robots are what can save the industry."
At the same time, he said the form of labor will inevitably change. Professor Han said, "The more dangerous, difficult, and tedious a task is, the more likely it is to go to robots. Robots can break down, but humans can lose their lives, so that is a good thing." He added, "That does not mean humans will sit idle. There will be more work."
He explained why people still watch track and field even though cars are faster than Usain St. Leo Bolt, saying, "It is not a matter of utility. There are areas where meaning only exists when humans do it together."

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