Korea's science ministry asks Nature editors and KAIST roboticists what humanoid R&D policy should fund next

Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT said on Oct 14 that its R&D policy director Kim Sung-soo met Nature editors, including Nature Sensors chief editor Olga Bubnova, KAIST president Bae Choong-sik and KAIST robotics professors Myung Hyun and Shim Hyun-chul over lunch on the sidelines of the 2026 Nature Conference on autonomous robotics, held by KAIST and Nature in Daejeon from Oct 13 to 15, Robot Newspaper (irobotnews) reported from the ministry's announcement.

According to the report, the group discussed the core technologies and unsolved problems standing between humanoids and commercial use, how Korea's manufacturing and research base could be turned into a competitive edge, and ways to expand international joint research.

Kim said the ministry would push a humanoid ecosystem through its three mega-projects and the K-Moonshot programme and would use the views gathered at the meeting in future humanoid R&D policy; first vice minister Koo Hyuk-chae, in a video address to the conference, described humanoids as central to physical AI.

No new budget was announced. The ministry's largest live commitment in MEKAWIRE's records is the KRW 1.41 trillion national physical-AI R&D programme for North Jeolla and South Gyeongsang from 2026 to 2030, under which Neuromeka leads a KRW 17.5bn shipyard welding project (reported Sept 28).