Industry ministry opens robot showcase as government plans 1,700-unit public rollout

South Korea's industry ministry said it hosted a two-day showcase of four-wheeled and four-legged robots in Seoul this week, bringing government buyers together with manufacturers before a planned public-sector rollout of more than 1,700 AI robots next year.

The event, held at SETEC from Oct. 28 to 29, was organized so that agencies that will actually use the machines could work through performance and operating requirements in detail with the companies building them, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. Nine buyer institutions took part, including the defense ministry, the Army Headquarters, the fire and police agencies, the agriculture ministry and the Korea Industrial Complex Corp. Eleven robot companies attended, among them Rainbow Robotics, Robotis, Hyundai Motor and Neubility.

The government intends to act as the first customer for an industry still early in its commercial life. Robots need chances to work in real settings, collect data and improve, not just research and development spending. Under the plan, agencies will take on robots suited to their own duties: research and data factories for the industry and science ministries, patrol and perimeter work for the defense ministry and police, and farm-site support for the agriculture ministry.

Data gathered during that work is to be passed back to the manufacturers, which the ministry said should feed a cycle in which field experience translates into better products.

The two days were structured around company presentations on their products and private-sector use cases, exhibitions and on-site demonstrations, and one-on-one consultations between buyer agencies and robot makers.

The ministry said it will draw up guidelines for public robot procurement by the end of the year together with other government departments, covering links with component suppliers, data collection and use, and repair obligations.

It also plans to display four-wheeled and four-legged robots alongside humanoid and care robots at the 2026 RoboWorld trade fair, scheduled for Nov. 4 to 7 at KINTEX in Goyang, giving buyer agencies a wider field to choose from.