2026 GGGF Opens: South Korea Leads in Physical and Agent AI

"For South Korea to truly become a State of AI, regulations must be relaxed to allow new companies to emerge freely. The government needs to open up the initial market for youth-led startups in new industries such as AI, robotics, defense, and healthcare."

On September 2, at the Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, the 18th Good Growth, Good Jobs Forum (2026 GGGF) hosted by Ajou Economic Newspaper featured lectures and discussions among experts seeking strategies for South Korea to lead in the global AI competition in the era of Physical AI and Agent AI.

Speakers unanimously agreed that expanding employment opportunities for the AI-native youth generation is essential for South Korea to become an AI nation. Lee Geum-ryong, chairman of Coglo.com, who successfully led the company to an IPO and sale, emphasized the need for "regulatory and legal reforms" and a "change in the role of universities" to facilitate this youth employment expansion.

He stressed the importance of transitioning from the current "positive regulation" system (where anything not explicitly legal is illegal) to a "negative regulation" system (where anything not explicitly illegal is legal) to allow new businesses to thrive in emerging industries and for startups and venture companies to compete in existing sectors.
 
"While generative AI data is available on the internet, crucial data for Physical AI is found in the field. By deploying robots in actual industrial settings to generate high-quality physical data, we can create a 'manufacturing-centric virtuous cycle ecosystem' unique to South Korea that connects this data back to AI learning and redeployment."

Dennis Hong, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and director of the RoMeLa robotics lab, presented this independent survival strategy for South Korea's Physical AI industry during his keynote speech at the 2026 GGGF.

Hong noted, "South Korea does not need to simply follow the U.S. model of AI development centered on big tech or China's approach that leverages a powerful hardware supply chain. South Korea possesses world-class manufacturing capabilities in automotive, semiconductors, and shipbuilding, and should leverage its strengths in field data to enhance industrial competitiveness."

He identified a significant shift in robotics over the past couple of years, moving from a traditional model where sensors gather external information, computers make decisions, and motors or hydraulic systems execute movements, to a new paradigm where a single AI model handles everything from sensor input to final motion control.
 
Im Jung-hwan, CEO of Motif Technologies, spoke at the 2026 GGGF hosted by Ajou Economic Newspaper, presenting on the theme of "K-AI Future Vision Amid U.S.-China Competition." He stated, "To avoid being outpaced by the scale of U.S.-China competition in AI, South Korea must shift the competitive landscape to areas where it has strengths. The competitiveness of South Korean AI lies in combining specific technologies and industries, focusing on high-difficulty processes, learning efficiency in limited computing, and specialized industrial AI domains."

As the U.S. and China emerge as the two major players in the AI power struggle, Im argued that South Korea should concentrate on identifying its competitive areas. He noted that South Korea lacks the scale to compete with the U.S. and China across all sectors, with private AI investment in South Korea projected to be around $3.1 billion in 2024, ranking sixth globally but only 3% of the U.S. level. The gap in computing resources is also significant, with South Korea at just 1% of the U.S. level.

Im pointed out, "While it is challenging to compete directly with the U.S. and China in terms of computing scale or capital, there is potential for South Korea to excel in specialized AI for specific industries. The issue for South Korean AI is not a lack of technology but rather the absence of a structure to convert strengths into AI value."

He emphasized that South Korea's advanced manufacturing technology is a key asset in the AI competition. "South Korea ranks among the top in semiconductors and memory, and the speed of AI adoption in industrial settings is rapid. However, it remains relatively weak in foundational models, computing infrastructure, and talent acquisition," he said. "Instead of competing on total computing volume, South Korea should focus on learning efficiency, intelligent high-difficulty processes and equipment, specialized industrial AI products instead of general consumer platforms, and architectural design capabilities with a small but elite workforce."
 
Homeplus, currently undergoing corporate rehabilitation, has successfully passed a critical milestone with the approval of its recovery plan by the court. Following the acquisition of 200 billion won in emergency operating funds last month, the company has resumed operations at 67 key stores and now has a foundation for management normalization with the confirmation of its recovery plan. Once the repayment process begins as outlined in the plan, the rehabilitation procedure will conclude.

The Seoul Rehabilitation Court's fourth division held a meeting on September 2 to vote on the recovery plan, which was immediately approved after the vote. The recovery secured 100% support from the secured creditors, 75.90% from the recovery creditors, and 100% from shareholders. The approval requirements were at least 75% from secured creditors, 66.7% from recovery creditors, and 50% from shareholders.

The court stated, "Considering that more than two-thirds of creditors agreed, we recognize that the recovery plan meets the approval criteria."

With the court's approval, Homeplus can now proceed with debt repayment, additional fundraising, and store sales as part of its normalization efforts. The court plans to conclude the rehabilitation process once repayments begin as stipulated in the plan.