[News] South Korea Probes Anti-Dumping of Chinese, Japanese Robots, Reportedly Alleges 40% Price Cut

China is not just making strides in memory and AI chips, putting pressure on tech giants like NVIDIA and Samsung. Now, it’s also challenging South Korea with low-cost industrial robots, as the Korea Trade Commission has launched an anti-dumping probe into industrial robots imported from China and Japan, reports Sedaily.

South Korean industrial robot makers argue that companies from both countries are slashing prices by up to 40% compared to their home markets, causing significant harm to local businesses, as noted by Sedaily.

According to Sedaily, the commission announced on May 2 it would begin probing whether 4-axis or more vertical articulated industrial robots from China and Japan are being dumped and causing harm to domestic manufacturers. These robots—equipped with four or more joints—are widely used across industries such as automotive and shipbuilding, the report adds.

A previous report from Maeil Business Newspaper suggested that the Trade Commission received five anti-dumping investigation requests in the first quarter of 2025. Sedaily points out that HD Hyundai Robotics, South Korea’s leading industrial robot maker and a subsidiary of HD Hyundai Group, is one of the companies filing complaints.

Sedaily notes that once the investigation begins, the commission will conduct a preliminary review over 3 to 5 months to determine whether to impose provisional duties. A full investigation will follow, lasting another 3 to 7 months, before final anti-dumping tariffs are set, as per the report.

According to Sedaily, in 2023, South Korea’s robot imports totaled 656.2 billion KRW, with Japanese-made robots accounting for 43.4% (285.1 billion KRW).

(Photo credit: HD Hyundai Robotics)

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