Korea's robot policy to preoccupy the world market converts from an established Catch-up strategy to a Leading strategy. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) decided to make the One Household One Robot Era earlier from initially the year 2020 to the year 2015.
Concerning robot industry's policy direction, director Sim Hag-bong, Robot Industry Division, Future Growth Industries Office, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy stressed: "A preemptive market creation will decide robot leading countries," adding that to date all industry strategies have been catch-up strategies for Korea behind the United States of America and Japan. In that regard, the robot industry is the only field Korea can do well, he said. However, diverse integration in the case of robotics is necessary because it is a representative convergence industry.
Moreover, due to the fact that robotics is a field whose spontaneous industry development is difficult, now is the time when its initiative is necessary through a feint operation of national-initiative selection and concentration. What's more, Korea's robot industry R&D performance holds a structure which is difficult to be commercialized due to the shortage of research accumulation, Sim pointed out. In camparison with advanced robotics countries, Korea's robot technology level remains at 70%. The number of robotics-related patents is also only a quarter of other countries' patents. Hence, continuous R&D enlargement and research manpower expansion are needed, he said.
According to the Ministry's robot industry development strategy to nurture robot industry as the leading part of the second semiconductor myth creation, MOCIE is operating the Robot Industry Policy Forum with the view of drawing policy plans by fields of the purpose of new market creation.
Korean-model Robot Land to spark robot demand
In order to create large-sized robot demand, Sim explained: "First of all, the Ministry is considering introducing a robot R&D securities issuance system so that the market can haul technology." He added that a share purchaser can be robot R&D investor and tentative robot consumer in the future.
Regarding the importance of robot funds, the robot expert director said: "It is necessary to introduce robot funds with the goal of solving investment and demand simultaneously by means of the general public's investment participation system." By allowing a prospective robot buyer to participate through robot fund connections, this robot fund can be a robot market's breakthrough by means of market-participation model R&D embodiment, he emphasized.
For the sake of securing profit, this fund will be operated in investing in another robot company or large-sized commercialization for individual robot for example, according to Sim. By raising a subscription fund worth 100 billion won (US$108 million) at the latter half of the year from governments, corporations, and private investors, the MOCIE plans to develop innovative robot products befitting customer needs or to secure the future's potential buyers.
Second, the MOCIE is considering forging Robot Land for the purpose of initiating the world robot market, according to Sim. To grow as a global mirror of world robot industry in the 21st century, the director underlined: "It is urgent for us to establish Korea's robotics industry standing through this Robot Land."
Economic ripple effects when forging Robot Land is expected to reach to 577.3 billion won (US$621 million) and employ 6,894 persons. If two million visitors come to this Robot Land annually, Sim presumed that approximately 74.3 billion won (US$79.9 million) turnover will be generated including a 128.9 billion won production induction effect (US$140 million) and employment of 2,233 persons.
About the background of such Robot Land's formation plan, he explained: "In the case of foreign countries such as the USA's Kennedy Space Center or Japan's Disney Land, those countries boost the general public's understanding about cutting- edge industry and offer new market demand through such facilities." He further said that this Robot Land project is part of pilot projects aiming to propagate robots in the hope of a large scale demand for intelligent robots and artificial market creation.
As a result of a survey that was enforced 16 nationwide cities or provinces as its object at the beginning of this year, 52.4% of respondents expressed a favorable impression about Robot Land, while 64.3% showed their intention to visit it, Sim said. He commented: "Korean-model robot theme park Robot Land will serve as a ground for close information exchange between consumer, developer and producer besides serving as the future-oriented complex culture space."
Urgent robot ethics charter
As the so-called robot culture society is anticipated with one household one robot era's advent as an impetus by the upcoming 2020, Sim on the other hand points out that the importance of a robot ethics charter is raised in earnest. Touching upon the fact that for example, a sex robot can destroy human order, he notes that national consensus is necessary about robot roles and its function in terms of ethical level.
In that context, it is necessary to proclaim a robot ethics charter and adapt it so that on one hand, robot demand can be created through an ethical confidence boost, he maintained.
Such robot ethics charter comes to prepare legal and institutional gadgets to protect human beings from robots, according to Sim. In regard to Korea's robotics industry roadmap in the future, he has committed himself to providing special manpower of 10,000 persons by 2011 besides accomplishing the third position in terms of international competitiveness in robot personal resources field by 2013.
So he said that MOCIE aims to be ranked as global country in the field of robotics for service by the year 2015.
