South Korea has reached a groundbreaking achievement: robots now make up one-tenth of its labor force, a development seen as a potential buffer against the country’s deepening demographic challenges.
While automation offers part of the solution, South Korea still faces a severe population crisis. In 2023, the country’s birth rate hit an all-time low of 0.72, prompting President Yoon Suk Yeol to declare a “national emergency.” Despite spending over $200 billion on pro-natalist policies over the past 18 years, results have been minimal. In response, the government has launched a new ministry focused on key demographic areas, including aging, immigration, and housing.
Home to global tech giants like Samsung and LG, South Korea is a leader in both electronics and automotive production. The country now has 1,102 robots for every 10,000 workers, amounting to over 3 million robots supporting a workforce of 28.8 million people as of September. This robot-to-worker ratio places South Korea well ahead of Singapore, which is second with 770 robots per 10,000 employees, and significantly outpaces other tech-heavy nations like Japan and China.
According to Ken Goldberg, a professor of engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, the robots in question are primarily industrial machines, not humanoid robots like Tesla's developing Optimus.
The 2024 World Robotics Report by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) notes that robot density worldwide has grown by around 5% annually since 2018. Singapore’s high robot density is particularly notable given its smaller size and limited industrial base.
Far from slowing down, South Korea is accelerating its efforts. In early 2024, the country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy introduced the Fourth Intelligent Robot Basic Plan, pledging $2.24 billion in public and private investments by 2030 to expand automation in sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, logistics, defense, and public safety.
The initiative also seeks to overcome both technological and regulatory barriers. A report from the International Trade Administration highlighted goals to boost domestic production of essential robot components from 44% to 80% by 2030 and to tackle 51 regulatory issues that currently hinder robotics growth.
Asia continues to dominate global automation, with a regional average of 182 robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers—a 7.6% increase from previous years. Along with Singapore, China, and Japan, South Korea ranks in the top 10 most automated countries worldwide.
Andrew Oros, a professor at Washington College, has emphasized the role of technology in compensating for the shrinking workforces across East Asia’s major economies, cautioning against an overreliance on what he calls "demographic materialism."