[Robots Are Coming] ① Annual Growth Rate of 32% Opens the 'Growth Plate'... 200 Trillion Won Market 'Within Sight'

Robot Market Annual Growth Rate 32%... Increased by 10%P Due to COVID-19
Deeply Penetrating Daily Life... 2023 Service Robot Market 47 Trillion Won
Rising Labor Costs Fuel Robot Demand... "Significant Cost Reduction Effect"

'2021 RoboWorld' Opening
(Goyang=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Byung-man = On the 27th, participants and visitors at '2021 RoboWorld' held at KINTEX in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, are watching a quadruped robot.
This exhibition allows visitors to see a wide range of robot products used from industrial sites to daily life, as well as the future life transformed by robots, all in one place.
2021.10.27
kimb01@yna.co.kr
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[Asia Economy Reporter Junhyung Lee] The rapid increase in robot adoption has ignited growth in the market. While the robot market has traditionally grown centered on industrial robots, recently, the service robot sector that assists people in daily life has shown clear growth.

According to Hyundai Motor Group, the global robot market is expected to grow from $44.4 billion (approximately 52 trillion KRW) last year to $177.2 billion (approximately 207.4 trillion KRW) by 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 32%. The global robot market’s average annual growth rate was 22% from 2017 to last year. The COVID-19 pandemic marked a turning point, increasing the market growth rate by 10 percentage points. COVID-19 became a pivotal moment for the robot industry.

With the emergence of advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and 5th Generation Mobile Networks (5G), robots have begun to penetrate deeply into daily life, performing tasks like cooking, cleaning, and delivery. COVID-19 acted as a catalyst for the spread of service robots. As demand for contactless services increased, companies of all sizes adopted service robots. The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) analyzed that the global service robot market will nearly double from $20.4 billion (approximately 23.9 trillion KRW) last year to $39.8 billion (approximately 46.7 trillion KRW) in 2023.

Rising labor costs and strengthened labor regulations over the past few years have fueled demand for robots. The minimum wage increase rate exceeded 26% in 2018?2019, a significant rise compared to the 4?7% range maintained from 2011 to 2017. An industry insider explained, "Service robots require only initial capital investment, with virtually no additional costs except for repair expenses," adding, "They can operate 24 hours a day without labor hour restrictions like the 52-hour workweek system, resulting in substantial cost savings."

Companies, burdened by the Serious Accidents Punishment Act to be enforced next year and labor market rigidity, are replacing existing labor with collaborative robots and service robots in fields where substitution is possible. A CEO of a collaborative robot development company explained, "Factories can flexibly manage productivity by introducing collaborative robots without additional facility expansion," and added, "Concerns about factory shutdowns due to strikes or COVID-19 infections are also alleviated."