Chinese Humanoid Robot Makers Expand into South Korea Market

China's humanoid robot makers are expanding activities in South Korea from entertainment displays into factory trials and commercial deployments as Seoul increases physical AI investment. UBTech Robotics, Anyverse Dynamics, Shanghai-based AgiBot and Unitree Robotics have demonstrated products or announced South Korean projects this year. Counterpoint Research associate director Ethan Qi said South Korea was a major Asia-Pacific market, where limited availability of locally produced humanoids at scale created opportunities for China's suppliers.

UBTech commercial robots division overseas head Sean Qin said representatives of Seoul entertainment venue Galaxy Robot Park agreed to purchase the U1 after the model's Shenzhen debut in June. Qin said the female-looking, 1.68-metre robot cost around 170,000 yuan (US$25,000) and reached the park last month. Qin said UBTech entered South Korea as early as 2019 and subsequently sold more than 10,000 robots to dozens of corporate and government customers. Shenzhen-based UBTech announced in July that the company planned humanoid trials on an automotive parts production line with Duksan JM Robotics and Ajin Industrial. Qin said several UBTech models were undergoing operational testing at South Korean sites, but Qin provided no details. Qin said humanoids could improve worker productivity on tasks requiring greater flexibility in a country already using conventional industrial robots extensively.

Anyverse Dynamics founder and CEO Zhang Yufeng, who previously worked with SK Telecom and Hyundai Motor, described South Korea as a leading overseas market for the Beijing-based start-up. Anyverse partnered with coffee chain Hollys at Beijing's World Robot Conference in August to test robots serving drinks, clearing tables and resetting seats. Zhang said the robots were undergoing trials at a Beijing cafe. Zhang said Anyverse planned South Korean cafe and commercial-service trials in the fourth quarter before entering manufacturing, and Anyverse was working on product certification. Qin said South Korea's strict Korea Certification rules required UBTech to modify communications modules and radio frequency settings.

Chinese customs data ranked South Korea third by value among China's export destinations for intelligent bionic robots during the first nine months of 2026, after the United States and Japan. The data showed exports to South Korea of US$19.99 million, representing 9.7% of China's global exports of US$206.95 million in that category. China shipped 16,559 robots to 108 countries and regions under the category, which began this year and includes humanoids and robot dogs. A Labsdeep study cited by Electronic Times this month found that eight of China's 10 best-selling humanoid makers were exploring South Korea through certification, trademark applications and sales channels.

China's robotics expansion has produced unicorn companies over the past two years, including some already shipping at scale with support from an extensive domestic supply chain. Chinese robot makers are seeking commercial uses to justify investment as South Korea pursues physical AI across industry. South Korea is prioritising physical AI to strengthen manufacturing amid a shrinking working-age population and slowing potential economic growth. The government has proposed 3.1 trillion won (US$2.3 billion) for physical AI in 2027, more than triple this year's amount. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources' Manufacturing AI Transformation programme, or M.AX, supports AI adoption and robot trials, including humanoids, and targets 500 AI factories by 2030. The ministry has allocated 1.1 trillion won to AI transformation this year. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said in August that government support for AI- and robot-operated factories would help South Korea lead manufacturing AI transformation globally by 2030.

LG Electronics is constructing a Seoul Data Factory to train robots for factories and homes while testing robots on LG production lines. Samsung Electronics created the Robotics eXperience division in July, initially focusing on manufacturing before homes and retail. JoongAng Ilbo reported on Tuesday that a bipedal robot for continuous manufacturing and logistics work could debut at CES in Las Vegas in January 2027. Hyundai Motor Group has started training Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoids at the group's Georgia factory campus before a planned manufacturing deployment in 2028. Doosan Robotics has introduced AI-powered sanding and palletising systems and is developing robot-control software with Nvidia's support.

The VC, a South Korean investment database, recorded AI and robotics as accounting for 45% of the third-quarter investments the platform tracked. Physical AI investment is reaching robot manufacturers, developers of foundational models for robots and training-data suppliers. Qi said automotive, shipbuilding and semiconductor factories offered deployment opportunities, but China's suppliers struggled to find local customers willing to join proof-of-concept trials.

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Jeong-heon presented Unitree and AgiBot robots at an October 6 parliamentary audit to question South Korea's physical AI competitiveness. Opposition People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo questioned whether the robots had passed security checks and accused the National Assembly of promoting China's technology. MoneyToday reported that Deputy Prime Minister and Science and Information and Communications Technology Minister Bae Kyung-hoon urged greater physical AI investment and development at an October 13 Seoul round table, citing China's increasing humanoid deployment and data collection. Bae questioned whether South Korea's plans were sufficiently ambitious and urged higher targets to avoid future regret over inadequate investment. Bae said companies needed to take greater responsibility because government support could not cover every initiative.

Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency Shenzhen office head Park Young-hoon told Newspim in October that companies should pursue opportunities using Shenzhen's supply chains and innovation while competing with China's technology firms. Zhang described the countries' strengths as complementary, citing South Korea's advanced manufacturing and AI innovation alongside China's supply chain, engineering and AI talent, and rapid product development. Qin said policies favouring domestic businesses had not prevented the South Korean customers UBTech had dealt with from considering China's robot suppliers.