While Korea is regarded as a key beneficiary of the artificial intelligence (AI) race on the strength of its semiconductor industry, young people are not properly enjoying the fruits of AI's spread, an analysis argued. As a large-company-centered employment structure combines with a preference for experienced hires, entry into the labor market is becoming increasingly difficult for young people, the analysis found.
The Financial Times (FT) of the United Kingdom highlighted Korea's case in a column published Sunday titled "How to stop AI becoming the enemy of young workers." The newspaper assessed that Korea's hiring structure most clearly demonstrates the side effects that changes in the labor market during the AI era could bring.
The FT explained that semiconductor companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are earning massive profits amid the AI craze, and that workers within these companies are sharing the benefits through wages and performance bonuses. However, it diagnosed that these gains have not spread across the labor market as a whole.
In particular, it pointed out that the gap between regular workers at large companies and workers at small and medium-sized enterprises has grown even wider in the AI era. Even before this, polarization was severe between so-called "insiders" who had secured stable jobs and "outsiders" who had not. The benefits of AI industry growth are following this same structure, widening the gap even further.
The group most affected is young people taking their first steps into society. Young people who have not yet accumulated career experience face higher barriers to employment amid companies' preference for experienced hires, and they are relatively excluded even in the process of AI's spread, the FT analyzed.
According to Bank of Korea data, jobs for young people aged 15 to 29 decreased by 211,000 over the past three years, while employment for those aged 50 and older increased by 209,000 during the same period. The decline in youth employment was especially pronounced in industries with high AI adoption. Youth jobs in computer programming, systems integration and management fell 11.2%, while publishing declined 20.4% and information services fell 23.8%.
The FT assessed that while a phenomenon of companies preferring experienced hires over new recruits is appearing in the United States as well, centered on the software industry, the degree is far stronger in Korea. It analyzed that Korea's case could serve as a warning signal allowing other countries to examine in advance the impact AI will have on their labor markets.
However, it cited as a positive factor that the government's fiscal capacity is expanding due to the AI semiconductor boom. It explained that there is room to use these resources to pursue large-scale investment projects and expand policies supporting youth employment and vocational training.
The FT proposed that the government use part of the excess profits to support companies in actively pursuing education and hiring until young people acquire sufficient expertise. In addition, it recommended that policies expanding education opportunities and access to capital for labor market "outsiders," such as the self-employed and workers at small and medium-sized enterprises, could serve as an alternative to reducing gaps in the AI era.
