LG's AI Hackathon Draws Record 3,400 as Contests Become Hiring Path

* Editor's note: "AI PRISM" (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an artificial intelligence-based personalized news recommendation and summary service developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and delivers six news items tailored to each reader type.

1. LG Holds Korea's Largest AI Hackathon With 3,400 Participants

Key points: LG held "LG Aimers," the country's largest AI hackathon, drawing 3,400 young participants. More than 23,000 people have taken part since the program began in 2022, and this year a final 96 advanced to the championship round after clearing competition of 34 to 1, the largest turnout to date. The top three teams shared prize money totaling 10 million won, and winners can skip the document screening stage when applying to LG. A recruitment fair ran alongside the event with four affiliates taking part — LG AI Research, LG Electronics, LG Uplus and LG CNS — showing how hands-on programs are functioning as hiring channels.

2. Military Service Exemption at Large Firms Revived After 14 Years

Key points: The Ministry of Science and ICT recommended four companies — LG Electronics, HD Hyundai Robotics, Samsung Medison and Samsung Electronics — as designated employers for the specialized research personnel program, reviving the military service exemption at large firms after 14 years. Under the program, master's and doctoral graduates in science and engineering work in research for three years instead of serving in the military. It was halted entirely at large companies in 2013 to protect research and development staff at smaller firms. From 2027 through 2029, 120 of the 240 specialized research personnel in the AI field will be assigned each year to research institutes affiliated with large companies. Analysts say concerns about science and engineering talent moving abroad and about career disruptions were the direct backdrop to the program's revival.

3. "In an Age When AI Supplies Answers, the Power to Ask Why Matters More"

Key points: Ahn Ji-hyun, dean of the College of Humanities at Seoul National University, said critical thinking and the capacity for independent judgment grow more important now that OpenAI's release of GPT-6 has brought discussion of the artificial general intelligence era to the fore. AI companies are indeed hiring more humanities talent, as when Google DeepMind recruited Cambridge University professor Henry Shevlin under the title of philosopher. The philosophy department at Seoul National University recorded competition of 15.44 to 1 in early admissions for the 2027 academic year, which observers link to the same trend. "You have to make good use of prompts while also building your thinking muscles to develop a competitive edge of your own," Ahn said.

4. Deputy Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon to Oversee It Directly: Dedicated Unit for Seven SEED Projects to Launch This Year

Key points: The Ministry of Science and ICT will create a dedicated department for the seven SEED projects this year, reporting directly to the deputy prime minister. The seven SEED areas are small modular reactors, nuclear fusion, renewable energy, quantum technology, space and aviation, advanced bio and advanced supply chains. They were announced last month at a briefing presided over by President Lee Jae-myung as projects to secure the next generation of growth engines 10 to 20 years out. Specific targets were also presented, including a domestically built 100-qubit-class quantum computer by 2029 and an independent low-Earth-orbit satellite communications network by 2035. The ministry said a government-wide support framework would be built and regulatory obstacles addressed in parallel.

5. Even One Million Residents Looks Shaky as Young People Leave Changwon

Key points: Changwon's total population has fallen to just 9,003 above the one million threshold required for special city status, setting off warning signs about an exodus of young residents. The net outflow rate for those aged 25 to 29 worsened to minus 8.47% in 2024 from minus 3.48% in 2015, and the number of Korean nationals in their 20s and 30s has dropped by more than 120,000 since 2010. The Changwon Institute said the cause was the absence of a career ladder allowing young people who have built experience to move into higher-level roles, rather than a shortage of jobs in absolute terms. About 40% of the 800 young people surveyed said they intended or planned to move out of Changwon.

6. Industrial Bank of Korea Sets Up AX Committee to Speed "AI Native Bank" Push

Key points: Industrial Bank of Korea has established an AX committee dedicated to AI transformation and will put it into operation shortly. The move is aimed at shifting to a company-wide operating framework so the bank does not fall behind in the AI race among lenders, and the committee will meet at least once a quarter to set priorities for AI projects. The bank plans to introduce a "talking transfer" service in the first half of next year that lets customers send money by conversing with AI. Analysts say the broader financial industry's accelerating shift to AI-native operations will change staffing demand for related roles.