Renewable energy, robots top new business plans of Korea's 1,000 largest listed firms

South Korea's top 1,000 listed companies by assets are concentrating their new-business expansion in renewable energy and robotics, according to a new analysis. Calls are growing for expanded research and development tax support to help companies build future competitiveness.

The Korea Economic Forum released the findings Monday, based on an analysis of newly added business purposes in the articles of incorporation of the top 1,000 listed companies by assets.

Among newly added business purposes classified as emerging industries, the breakdown by broad sector showed energy leading at 31.1%, followed by manufacturing and mobility at 19.8%, AI at 12.3%, and ICT and digital at 12.3%.

Convergence knowledge services accounted for 7.5%, materials and components for 6.6%, semiconductors and displays for 3.8%, biohealth for 3.8%, and environment and smart agri-fisheries for 2.8%.

Looking at specific subsectors within emerging industries, renewable energy topped the list at 18.9%, followed by robotics at 11.3%, software applications and cybersecurity at 8.5%, knowledge services at 6.6%, and AI convergence services and data analytics and computing each at 5.7%.

The Korea Economic Forum attributed the dominance of renewable energy to rising corporate demand for renewable energy procurement, spurred by the finalization of the 2035 national greenhouse gas reduction target and the government's announcement of plans to develop RE100 industrial complexes.

A clear divergence also emerged between the top 500 and bottom 500 companies in the distribution of new business purposes by industry. The top 500 showed a relatively even spread — energy at 28.4%, ICT and digital at 17.9%, manufacturing and mobility at 16.4%, AI at 16.4%, and convergence knowledge services at 10.4% — while the bottom 500 were concentrated almost entirely in energy at 35.9% and manufacturing and mobility at 25.6%.

Among the top 500 companies, renewable energy was the leading subsector at 16.4%, followed by software applications and cybersecurity at 13.4%, knowledge services at 10.4%, and robotics and data analytics and computing each at 9.0%. Software and service-based sectors collectively accounted for a relatively high 32.8%.

Among the bottom 500, renewable energy again led at 23.1%, followed by robotics at 15.4%, and precision medicine, semiconductors, and aerospace and defense each at 7.7%. Hardware-based businesses accounted for 53.9% of the total.

"Corporate expansion into new industries is concentrated in a limited number of sectors such as renewable energy and robotics, and there are clear differences in the scope and pattern of new-industry entry depending on company size," said Lee Sang-ho, head of the Korea Economic Forum's economic division. "Institutional support must be strengthened — including expanded R&D tax incentives and more effective regulatory sandboxes for emerging industries — so that companies can enter a wider range of new sectors and secure their future competitiveness," he added.