As artificial intelligence (AI) advances and the Robotics market fully opens, attention is turning to the next moves of domestic electronic component companies that are taking aim at robots as their next growth engine. The localization of core materials and components is cited as a key factor for enhancing the competitiveness of Korea's robot industry.
Korea's robot industry is regarded as one of the world's top "user countries," but some say the industrial structure itself remains vulnerable. Although industrial robot installation density ranks No. 1 in the world, the localization rate of core materials and parts remains in the 40% range, creating a structure in which the more robots are used, the more imports of foreign parts increase. Evaluations continue that the added value from robot industry growth is not sufficiently recirculating into domestic manufacturing.
According to related industries on the 26th, domestic electronic component companies view parts for Humanoid Robot and others as a mid- to long-term growth base. As parts makers feel demand changes earlier than finished goods companies, they are moving quickly to respond to increasing robot demand driven by AI sophistication.
A representative case is Samsung Electro-Mechanics. Samsung Electro-Mechanics posted consolidation-based fourth-quarter revenue of 2.9021 trillion won and operating profit of 239.5 billion won last year, up 16% and 108%, respectively, from a year earlier. On an annual basis, revenue was 11.3145 trillion won and operating profit was 913.3 billion won, the highest performance since its founding. Demand for FC-BGA substrates for AI servers and MLCCs (multilayer ceramic capacitors) for automotive electronics and servers was said to have driven results.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics is extending this component competitiveness to robots. According to securities estimates, a single Humanoid Robot requires about 10,000 MLCCs and at least five camera modules. Like AI servers, robots also have high parts intensity. Samsung Electro-Mechanics holds the world's No. 2 position in MLCCs and is expected to enter No. 3 globally in automotive MLCCs in 2025, securing enough competitiveness to position itself as a key component supplier in the robot era, analysts say.
However, some point out that relying only on existing mainstay components such as MLCCs, substrates, and camera modules makes it difficult to overcome the structural limitations of the robot industry. The areas with the lowest localization rates in the robot supply chain are drive units (actuators and motors), precision reducers, and controllers. In fact, Korea depends on China for about 88.8% of permanent magnets, a core robot material, and the shares of Japanese and Chinese products are also high for precision reducers and controllers.
For this reason, Samsung Electro-Mechanics recently made a strategic investment in Norway's Alba Industries, a maker of ultra-compact high-performance electric motors. The move aims to secure ultra-compact motor technology capable of precisely controlling the hands and joints of Humanoid Robot. It is interpreted as an attempt to move beyond a portfolio centered on electronic components and directly shore up the vulnerable area of robot drive units.
LG Innotek is also setting robots as its next growth axis and moving to respond. LG Innotek is focusing on vision and sensing components for robots by combining camera modules, sensors, and substrate technologies. Its vision-sensing collaboration with U.S. robot company Boston Dynamics and robot component sales reported to be worth tens of billions of won are seen as the opening salvo in a strategy to move away from a business structure with high mobile dependence.
LG Innotek is extending its high-reliability technology accumulated in automotive electronics sensors to robots, has secured Figure AI as a client, and also participated in investment through LG Group's venture capital affiliate. By simultaneously establishing supply and investment ties with a Humanoid Robot front-runner, the company is seen as aiming beyond simple parts supply at repeat orders driven by platform expansion. The securities industry projects that LG Innotek's substrate business could grow 50% to 60% in 2026 and believes robot-related orders could help cushion earnings volatility.
The securities industry views robot components as the next revenue leverage after AI. Goldman Sachs forecast the global Humanoid Robot market at 56 trillion won in 2035, while KB Securities named Samsung Electro-Mechanics its top pick in IT components in the "physical AI era." Analysts say MLCCs and packaging substrates are likely to enter a supercycle in 2026–2027.
The key question is whether the 40% localization barrier can be substantially overcome. The Korea International Trade Association's Institute for International Trade recently said in a related report, "Korea's robot industry has a horizontal growth structure with strong downstream demand but weak upstream and midstream competitiveness," adding, "If we fail to break the vicious cycle in which imports of foreign parts expand as robot production increases, industrial competitiveness will inevitably be limited."
It added, "Stabilizing supply chains in parallel through component maker-led joint research and development, strategic investment, and package-type exports is necessary to ensure the added value of the robot industry is accumulated domestically."