Correspondent Report: World Now, Unitree Surges 629% After Listing... Highlighting the Robot Rise

The 465th episode of KBS 1TV 'Correspondent Report: World Now' will be broadcast on Saturday, the 29th, at 9:30 PM. This episode covers China's robot rise along with the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has reached 100 days since its onset.

Tiangong Ultra, a Robot Sprint Surpassing Bolt

On the 22nd, a world humanoid robot competition was held in China, where approximately 2,000 humanoid robots participated in 51 events. In the most notable 100m sprint, China's humanoid robot 'Tiangong Ultra' recorded 9.39 seconds, surpassing Usain Bolt's 9.58 seconds, and further reduced its record to 8.64 seconds on the final day of the competition. Considering that Tiangong Ultra's 100m record was 21.50 seconds a year ago, it has become more than 12 seconds faster in just one year.

Unitree's 629% Surge upon Listing and the Robot Rise

China has designated humanoid robots as a national strategic industry and is establishing mass production systems. The humanoid model G1 from China's representative robot company, Unitree, has been on sale since 2024, and it has become capable of sophisticated tasks such as opening bottles and cracking walnuts, following walking, running, and jumping. The price is $13,500 (approximately 18.63 million KRW), which is lower than Tesla's Optimus, which aims for $20,000 to $30,000. According to the '2026 Humanoid Robot Industry Development Report,' China's robot shipments in the first half of this year accounted for 97% of global shipments. As of mid-May 2026, the investment attracted by Chinese robot companies reached $5.6 billion, already exceeding last year's total investment. When Unitree was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on the 19th, its stock price soared from the public offering price of 150.8 yuan to 1,100 yuan, surging by more than 629%, and founder Wang Xingxing became the wealthiest person born in China since the 1990s after the listing.

100 Days of Ebola in DR Congo, Fears of the Worst Ever

As 100 days have passed since the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared an Ebola outbreak last May, the number of confirmed cases has exceeded 5,500, and the death toll has reached 2,680. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the current spread is faster than the West African outbreak of 2014–2016, and it could become the worst crisis ever. As the United States dismantled USAID and withdrew from the WHO, the aid received by Congo has decreased by more than half compared to last year, leading to a continuous shortage of epidemiological surveillance and epidemic prevention personnel and equipment. On May 24th, an incident occurred where bereaved families of Ebola victims stormed a General Hospital and opened fire; since the declaration of the outbreak, a total of 12 attacks targeting medical facilities have been recorded, with 12 volunteers injured. The Africa CDC warned that the actual scale of infection could be three times the official count.

This broadcast will feature announcer Yoon Su-young and professors Kim Jae-cheon of Sogang University, Oh Gun-young of Shinhan Bank, and Park Hyun-do of Sogang University's EuroMENA Institute.

Source: KBS Press Release

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