This morning, as the doors of the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee audit room opened, two humanoid robots walked in one after another.
They are products from a Chinese company that are already commercialized and sold in China.
The robots approached the lawmakers' seats, greeting them in fluent Korean and offering handshakes.
[(Nice to meet you.) Yes, nice to meet you.]
Standing side by side in front of the audit room, the robots soon began to move when music played—one performing martial arts-like motions, and the other dancing to the rhythm.
Laughter erupted in various parts of the tense audit room.
Members of the audit committee leaned forward in fascination, taking out their smartphones to take pictures.
After showing off their skills, the robots waved goodbye and exited, though they showed some awkward moments such as bumping into each other.
It was a remote-controlled method operated by a person using a remote control, and things seemed somewhat unpolished as it deviated from the initial demonstration plan.
Lee Jeong-heon, a member of the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee from the Democratic Party who brought the robots over from China, pointed out the gap with China in the field of humanoid robots, or physical AI.
[Lee Jeong-heon / Member, National Assembly Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee (Democratic Party) : When I checked the scale of China's investment in the robotics industry, it is about 30 billion yuan annually, which is roughly 6.4 trillion won in our money. (In South Korea), companies making hardware like these humanoids account for a mere 1.9%, just 53 companies. What is even more serious is that more than half of these hardware companies, 29 of them, have not attracted a single external investment.]
Minister of Science and ICT Bae Gyung-hoon acknowledged the lack of investment and promised to designate physical AI as a key future growth engine, building a robot ecosystem that can be deployed in actual industrial sites.
(Reported by Kwon Ran | Video by Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Park Na-young | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.