South Korea's Ministry of Economy & Finance, together with the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, held the second Strategic Economy Forum on AI agents and physical AI. In remarks at the event, the first vice minister said the ministry will prepare institutional improvement measures so AI agent commerce services can be tested through regulatory sandboxes, while setting out a broader policy direction to support AI-driven growth sectors. The ministry described AI agent commerce as a new stage of commerce in which AI agents carry out search, comparison, ordering and payment, creating a need for faster work on standards and changes to distribution, logistics and payment systems. Forum discussions highlighted the need for payment infrastructure that can register agent identity, record delegated authority and limits, and support real-time settlement, alongside new rules on authority, liability and payment trust. Presentations at the forum cited estimates that AI agent commerce could reach USD 3 trillion to USD 5 trillion by 2030, while physical AI could become a USD 3 trillion market by 2040. On physical AI, the ministry pointed to useful data as the core competitive factor and said it plans to build a data management framework, expand field demonstrations in mobility, manufacturing, care and agriculture, and support core hardware components such as sensors, actuators and batteries. The ministry said it will continue pursuing support policies to foster future growth drivers based on the policy proposals discussed at the forum.

Original source Back to tracker