Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

RoboCup 2026, the world’s largest robotics technology competition, will be held from July 2 to July 5, 2026, at Songdo Convensia in Incheon. Kim Sung-yeol, Deputy Minister for Industry and Growth at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR, Minister JK Kim), attended the opening ceremony, encouraged participating teams from Korea and abroad, and met with Korean undergraduate and graduate students competing in the event to discuss training future robotics talent.

RoboCup 2026

Hosted by Incheon Metropolitan City and the International RoboCup Federation and sponsored by MOTIR, RoboCup 2026 — the 29th edition of the event — was held at its largest scale to date, with about 3,000 participants from 45 countries. Beyond robot soccer, the competition features robotics challenges in which robots perform tasks in disaster rescue, home service, manufacturing processes, and other areas. During the event, organizers will also hold the Humanoid Robot Challenge for Korean university teams, operate an exhibition featuring more than 40 robot manufacturers and component companies from Korea and abroad, and host an international symposium on robotics technology to share the latest trends in the global robotics industry.

Humanoid Robot Challenge

This year’s inaugural Humanoid Robot Challenge brings together 12 Korean university teams. Their humanoid robots will perform tasks designed for manufacturing and logistics settings, including sorting parts, transporting them, assembling components, and fastening wheels. The challenge will assess the potential use of humanoid robots in manufacturing by having them carry out tasks similar to those found at actual production sites.

Roundtable with Young Robotics Talent

Before the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister Kim met with Korean undergraduate and graduate students competing in RoboCup 2026 to discuss training future robotics talent and supporting robotics research. The students called for stronger research infrastructure and more industry-academia R&D projects, and MOTIR presented its policy direction for developing robotics talent.

First, MOTIR will establish Korea’s first specialized graduate school for humanoid robotics in the second half of 2026 to train master’s and doctoral-level experts. The school will be established under the Act on Special Measures for Strengthening the Competitiveness of, and Protecting National High-Tech Strategic Industries to train personnel in national high-tech strategic technologies. Selected universities will receive about KRW 3.0 billion per year for up to five years to build educational and research facilities, develop and operate curricula, and engage in industry-academia projects with companies. 

Second, MOTIR will expand opportunities for universities and companies to conduct joint R&D and demonstration projects. The ministry will hold annual technology competitions, such as the Humanoid Robot Challenge, and, in the selection process for future national robotics R&D and demonstration projects, give additional points to universities that achieve strong results in the competition. This will support joint research with companies and other partners.

Third, MOTIR will support the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), the world’s largest robotics conference, which will be held in Seoul in 2027. The ministry will also support related R&D so Korean academia and industry can present their research outcomes at ICRA.

“RoboCup 2026 is a platform where robotics talent from around the world comes together to compete and exchange ideas. It is also an important opportunity to demonstrate Korea’s progress toward becoming a leading AI robotics powerhouse,” Deputy Minister Kim said. “The government will reflect the suggestions raised at today’s roundtable in policies that strengthen support for young talents as they build the capabilities to become world-leading robotics professionals.”