South Korea’s increasing investment in unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) is being driven not only by military modernization but also by a shrinking manpower pool, according to British analytics firm GlobalData. The country’s active-duty troop strength fell from approximately 560,000 in 2019 to around 450,000 in 2025, prompting Seoul to explore robotic systems for missions that would otherwise require additional personnel. GlobalData estimates that South Korea will allocate about $140 million to ground robotics procurement through 2036, with UGVs expected to support logistics, surveillance, mine clearance, and other operational roles.
