Korea's Top Conglomerates Accelerate AI, Robot Push to Replace Workers

*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an AI-based customized news recommendation and summary service developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six tailored news items by reader type.

1. "Suffering Annual Bonus Conflicts"…Major Overhaul of Manufacturing AX and Hiring Roadmap Inevitable

- Key Summary: Major conglomerates including Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, and LG are accelerating AI and robot adoption across the board in response to the implementation of the Yellow Envelope Act and the spread of "N% of operating profit" performance bonuses. Executives from affiliates of the four major groups will attend 'GTC Taipei 2026' held in Taiwan on the 1st of next month, where they plan to discuss cooperation with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on smart factory core technologies including the physical AI platforms 'Omniverse' and 'Isaac.' Hyundai Motor Group plans to produce Boston Dynamics' humanoid 'Atlas' at an annual scale of 30,000 units from 2028 for deployment in its own factories, while SK hynix (000660) has raised the accuracy of its 'AI Property Prediction System (AIPS)' — which shortens material analysis time by 75% — to 90%. According to the Korea Labor Institute, the number of young workers employed at AI-adopting companies has fallen to 92–93% of 2022 levels as of 2024, the year ChatGPT was released.

2. Backlash from N% Bonuses…Robot Transition Accelerates

- Key Summary: The controversy over operating profit-linked bonuses triggered by Samsung Electronics (005930) and SK hynix has spread into industry-wide concerns over workforce management, accelerating smart factory transitions. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have decided to bring forward as much as possible the timeline for building 'AI autonomous factories,' originally scheduled for 2030, and are pushing the application of digital twin (a technology that virtually replicates physical systems)-based simulation across the entire process from material receipt to production and shipment, along with the adoption of humanoid manufacturing robots. LG Electronics (066570) achieved 500 billion won in orders just two years after establishing its dedicated smart factory organization and has begun work to convert 29 factories across 14 countries worldwide into AI factories by 2030. In shipbuilding, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (329180) has set a goal of completing a smart shipyard (FOS) integrating AI and robot technology by 2030, with robot transition competition intensifying in earnest across all sectors.

3. KKR Launches Samsung Dream Team…Establishes Dedicated New York Entity for AI Investment Cooperation

- Key Summary: Global private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) has established a dedicated New York entity, 'Startech AI,' to mark its investment in Samsung SDS, deploying tech experts and mid-to-long-term investment officers at the front. KKR invested approximately 1.22 trillion won in convertible bonds (CBs) issued by Samsung SDS earlier this month, securing about 8% equity, in an investment that mobilized what is being called a "Samsung Dream Team" spanning the Seoul office, the Asia-Pacific headquarters, and the New York head office. Joining 'Startech AI' are Saul Kopelowitz, a global tech investment expert from KKR's New York private equity team, and Kevin Murphy, an executive in charge of 'Core Investment,' the firm's dedicated long-term partnership investment unit. Meanwhile, Samsung SDS has formalized a 10 trillion won investment roadmap to expand AI infrastructure over the next five years, with the move evaluated as Korean companies fully joining the global trend of alliances between Big Tech and large private equity firms, such as Google-Blackstone and Microsoft-BlackRock.

4. 45 Trillion Won in Policy Funds Pours In…Sluggish KOSDAQ Surges 5%

- Key Summary: As sales of the Lee Jae-myung administration's flagship policy fund, the National Growth Fund, kicked off in earnest, expectations of a massive inflow of policy capital into the KOSDAQ market intensified, with the KOSDAQ index surging 55.16 points (4.99%) from the previous trading day to close at 1161.13 on the 22nd. The National Growth Fund, totaling 150 trillion won over five years including 3 trillion won in public funds, is designed to invest 30% of its assets in KOSDAQ and unlisted stocks, targeting the cultivation of advanced strategic industries such as AI, semiconductors, bio, robotics, and secondary batteries. The government has also decided to reflect the KOSDAQ index at 5% in the management evaluation benchmarks for 67 pension funds totaling 1,400 trillion won, with pension fund investment in the KOSDAQ — currently at 5–6 trillion won — projected to expand to more than 10–20 trillion won. "KOSDAQ-listed technology growth companies and firms eligible for KOSDAQ venture fund investment are likely to be major beneficiaries," said Yeom Dong-chan, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities. "Pharmaceutical, bio, IT, robotics, and aerospace companies are also expected to benefit."