Record-breaking event draws 402 companies, 1,198 booths

Min Woo Lee, director general of the industrial growth office at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy [The Herald Business DB]
Min Woo Lee, director general of the industrial growth office at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy [The Herald Business DB]

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy opened Robo World 2026 on Wednesday at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, with the event running through Saturday.

This year's edition is the largest in the show's history, with 402 domestic and international companies and institutions filling 1,198 booths. Highlights include domestic humanoid robots performing K-pop choreography and taekwondo forms, offering visitors a firsthand look at the latest capabilities from Korean and overseas robotics firms, the ministry said.

Particularly notable this year is a "K-Robot Public Pre-Market" showcase pavilion, set up ahead of a public robot supply program launching next year for the first time.

Twenty-two companies — including LG Electronics, Rainbow Robotics, Lion Robotics and Clobot — are demonstrating core functions of humanoid robots, four-legged and four-wheeled robots, and care robots.

A "K-Defense Commercial Robot Technology Road Show" is also being held to explore the use of robotics in national defense. Private robotics companies are presenting their technologies to defense officials and discussing potential real-world applications.

According to the International Federation of Robotics, about 603,000 industrial robots were newly installed worldwide last year, an 11 percent increase from the previous year. South Korea leads the world in robot density, with 1,220 robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers.

At the 2026 Machinery and Robotics Industry Merit Awards ceremony held after Wednesday's opening, 25 people received government commendations and ministerial citations from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy for their contributions to the robotics industry. Among them, SBB Tech Chief Executive Ryu Jae-wan received an industrial merit decoration for developing and supplying domestically produced core robot components.

"We will strengthen policy support so that the robotics industry's potential can be rapidly realized and it can become a second semiconductor industry," said Min Woo Lee, director general of the industrial growth office at the ministry. "We will also work to ensure that robots are swiftly introduced into our national defense by leveraging private-sector capabilities."


oskymoon@heraldcorp.com