A robot demonstrates stacking boxes for logistics centers during Smart Factory + Automation World 2025 at COEX in Seoul’s Gangnam District, March 12, 2025. Korea Times file
Korea is demonstrating world-class competitiveness in the on-site application of robots. But the country’s heavy reliance on Chinese and Japanese imports for raw materials and components leaves the domestic industry vulnerable to potential supply chain disruptions, according to a report by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), Sunday.
Citing the International Federation of Robotics’ 2024 statistics, the report noted that Korea ranked fourth in the world for installed robotic equipment in industrial settings. China led, followed by Japan and the United States.
Korea also ranked first in the world for robot density, with 1,012 robots operating for every 10,000 employees, the report said.
Despite robust activity in the robotics sector, KITA said South Korea’s robot industry remains vulnerable to supply chain disruptions due to heavy reliance on Chinese and Japanese imports of raw materials and key components.
The report said that as of last year, 88.8 percent of Korea’s imports of permanent magnets, a key component for robotic motors, came from China, while the country’s reliance on China for raw materials such as rare earth elements used to produce the magnets also reached 60 percent.
In terms of components, Korea is heavily dependent on imports from Japan for precision reducers, a core part of robot drive systems. Japanese companies such as Harmonic Drive Systems and Yaskawa dominate key reducer segments including harmonic drives and rotary vector reducers.
KITA noted that, due to this dependence, the government estimates Korea has domesticated just over 40 percent of the key materials and components used in the robotics industry. As a consequence of this, the Korean industry’s rising production of complete end-products is still accompanied by growing imports, leaving it vulnerable to potential risks from global supply chains, the report noted.
A mining machine is seen at Bayan Obo mine transporting rare earth minerals in Inner Mongolia, China, in this undated photo. Reuters-Yonhap
Japan, by contrast, is demonstrating a robust supply chain despite limited domestic natural resources. The report said the country’s advanced upcycling technologies for extracting rare earth minerals from discarded robotic motors are boosting its supply chain resilience.
The two countries’ contrasting robotics ecosystems are reflected in their trade performance, according to KITA. While 71.2 percent of robotic products made in Korea are sold domestically, Japan exports more than 70 percent of its robotic products. KITA described this as “a major gap in global competitiveness.”
“Korea may have a superb capability to utilize robots across industrial sectors. But it has a clear structural disadvantage of highly relying on imports for the key materials and parts. Korea has been focusing on manufacturing and implementing robotics. Now, the focus must shift to stabilizing the industry’s supply chain,” a KITA official said.
To address this critical challenge, KITA proposed that both suppliers and manufacturers cooperate to reduce reliance on imported rare earth minerals. The organization also urged the Korean government to share the risks of domesticizing the industry’s key materials and to develop local mineral mines to secure domestic sources.