Han media: "If China's robot technology level is 100, then South Korea is at most 40!"

On October 25, the Korean media Seoul Economic Daily published an article stating, "If we assume China's robot technology level is 100, then South Korea is at most around 40."

Recently, a representative of a small and medium-sized robot parts company in South Korea visited the "2025 Robot Exhibition" held in Shanghai, China, and he was very surprised. Chinese companies exhibited various ultra-small drill bits for robots that are very difficult to manufacture, which are long and not bent. However, South Korea has never produced such products. He said, "I have walked through the famous tool streets in South Korea, but I have never seen such long and thin drill bits. I can't believe that China is so far ahead of South Korea in technology."

While Chinese robot companies are aggressively entering the global market, the South Korean industrial robot industry has been recovering slowly since sales plummeted during the pandemic. According to the Korean Robot Industry Association, the domestic sales of industrial robots in South Korea fell from 3.42 trillion won in 2018 to 2.86 trillion won in 2020, and then slowly rebounded to 2.99 trillion won in 2023, remaining around 2 trillion won for five consecutive years.

Even at the Shanghai exhibition, it was difficult to see progress from South Korean companies. To meet the needs of the Chinese market, 321 global robot companies including Japan's Fanuc and Sweden's ABB displayed their products. However, only one South Korean company (HD Hyundai Robotics) participated.

A South Korean industry insider commented, "China's robot production technology competitiveness has already surpassed South Korea, with a large number of Chinese companies participating every year. There is a lot of investment at the government level, and competitive enterprises have survived. China has already formed an industrial robot ecosystem."

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846953540067459/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.