CONTENTS
- 1. Corporate Consulting | Announcement of a Strategy for Securing Core Competitiveness in Physical AI
- - The Significance of the Physical AI Proof-of-Concept Lab
- 2. Corporate Consulting | The Structure of the National Strategy and Its Direction for Industrial Application
- - Structural Changes for Manufacturing Companies and the Attendant Risks
- 3. Corporate Consulting | Policy-Based Business Opportunities and Response Strategies
- - Key Areas of an Attorney's Advisory Services
- - The Core of Corporate Consulting Is the "Redesign of the Operating Structure"
1. Corporate Consulting | Announcement of a Strategy for Securing Core Competitiveness in Physical AI
Through corporate consulting, you can prevent, in advance, the risks that arise from changes in policy and regulation.
In March 2026, the government, led by the Ministry of Science and ICT, formalized a policy aimed at breaking away from manufacturing sites' dependence on foreign products and building a factory operation system based on domestic technology.
In particular, with the unveiling of the "Physical AI Integrated Platform" through the KAIST proof-of-concept lab, an AI-based factory operation system that can be applied at the level of actual industrial sites was realized, which confirmed the effectiveness of the policy.
Accordingly, in the field of corporate consulting as well, the strategic focus is likely to shift beyond the existing digital transformation (DX) toward an AI-based physical operation system (PX, Physical Transformation).
The Significance of the Physical AI Proof-of-Concept Lab
The most important starting point in this policy is the unveiling of the KAIST proof-of-concept lab.
Until now, domestic manufacturing companies have relied on foreign software costing billions of won to operate their factories, a structure that created not only a cost burden but also technological dependence and data-control risks at the same time.
This proof-of-concept lab is a case in which the entire scope of sensors, control, robotics, and manufacturing software was integrated using domestic technology, implementing the factory's operation system as a single AI platform.
In particular, the "artificial intelligence factory manager (operation agent)," by optimizing logistics and production schedules in real time on the basis of a digital twin, presented an autonomous decision-making factory structure distinct from the existing ERP- and MES-centered operation methods.
From a corporate consulting perspective, this signifies not merely the adoption of technology but the following structural changes.
- Automation of factory operation decision-making
- Integrated optimization of production, logistics, and equipment
- Transition to a data-driven real-time management system
- Breaking away from dependence on foreign solutions and securing technological sovereignty
In short, the competitiveness of manufacturing companies is shifting away from the scale of their equipment and toward AI-based operational capabilities.
2. Corporate Consulting | The Structure of the National Strategy and Its Direction for Industrial Application
The Physical AI strategy presented by the government has a full-cycle structure that proceeds as "technology development → proof of concept → industrial diffusion → overseas expansion."
① Securing Common Foundational Technologies
- Robot foundation models
- World models (reality-prediction simulation)
- AI semiconductor-based computing platforms
These three core technologies are set to expand in the future not only into manufacturing but also into various industries such as logistics, agriculture, disaster response, and care.
② Automation of Manufacturing Processes
This is a structure in which autonomous precision manufacturing, process optimization, and data-driven production management systems are built, centered on the automotive, precision manufacturing, and shipbuilding industries, and then expanded into the global market.
③ Building the Ecosystem
- Regulatory improvement
- Support for investment and overseas expansion
- Establishment of a talent-development system
- Preempting international standards
In particular, international standards are likely to serve as a key variable that will determine whether companies can enter the market in the future.
④ Industry-Academia-Research Cooperation
This direction seeks to accelerate the commercialization of technology and reduce the gap between policy and industry through a cooperative structure among the government, companies, and universities.
Structural Changes for Manufacturing Companies and the Attendant Risks
This policy is an opportunity, but at the same time it creates new risks for companies.
① Risk of Restructuring the Technological-Dependence Framework
As companies transition from foreign solutions to domestic AI platforms, issues may arise with compatibility with existing systems, conversion costs, and operational stability.
② Data and Security Risks
Because an AI-based factory connects sensors, robots, and control systems all together, industrial data leaks, cyberattacks, and operating-system failures can lead directly to a halt in a company's production.
③ Changes in the Structure of Contracts and Liability
If operation based on AI decision-making expands, legal issues will arise that are difficult to resolve under existing contractual structures, such as the party responsible when an error occurs, the liability of software and robot suppliers, and responsibility for data processing.
④ Regulatory and Certification Risks
If performance-evaluation criteria, safety standards, and international standards are introduced in the future, a lack of certification or a failure to meet the standards can lead directly to restrictions on market entry.
3. Corporate Consulting | Policy-Based Business Opportunities and Response Strategies
Companies need to take the following approaches.
① Establishing a Policy-Linked Business Strategy
- Participation in government projects related to Physical AI
- Use of proof-of-concept projects and testbeds
- Entry into public-private cooperation structures
② Industry-Specific Application Strategies
- Manufacturing: process automation and operational optimization
- Logistics: AI-based logistics-flow management
- Agriculture: smart farming systems
- Care/Safety: robot-based services
Because the method of application differs by industry, a tailored strategy is needed.
③ Export Strategy
Given that the government aims to export the "K-Manufacturing Intelligent Factory Package," companies can secure opportunities to enter overseas markets on the basis of technology proven domestically.
④ Policy Response and Government-Relations Strategy
The policy is still at a stage before final confirmation, and there is room for companies' opinions to be reflected.
Key Areas of an Attorney's Advisory Services
The diffusion of Physical AI is not a technological matter but a domain in which law, contracts, regulation, data, and industrial policy are combined.
Accordingly, the following legal advisory services are indispensable in the corporate consulting process.
Principal Advisory Areas
- Designing the contractual structure for adopting AI-based manufacturing systems
- Robot and software supply contracts and the allocation of liability
- Reviewing legal risks related to data collection, use, and security
- Building a system for industrial-technology protection and trade-secret management
- Strategies for responding to international standards and certification
- Legal review related to participation in government support programs
- Designing the liability structure in the event of an AI error or accident
- Responding to regulations and export controls when expanding overseas
In particular, because Physical AI is AI that produces "physical results," it can give rise to a far higher level of damages and safety-liability risk than the conventional issue of software liability.
The Core of Corporate Consulting Is the "Redesign of the Operating Structure"
This Physical AI policy goes beyond the adoption of technology and marks the starting point of a structural change that reshapes the very way manufacturing companies operate.
In particular, the next three years are assessed as a decisive period that will determine dominance in Physical AI, and depending on which strategy a company chooses during this period, the gap in competitiveness between companies is likely to widen significantly.
Accordingly, the core of corporate consulting lies in comprehensively designing the redesign of the factory operating structure, the establishment of data and security systems, the realignment of contractual and liability structures, and the formulation of a policy-linked strategy.
As a result, manufacturing, logistics, and ICT companies can be said to have entered a stage in which they must, alongside technology investment, build legal-risk management and policy-response strategies at the same time.
🔗Through a Legal Consultation Reservation with a Corporate Attorney, you are welcome to prepare measures to guard against these risks in advance.
