Military Service Exemption for AI Researchers Returns to Big Companies

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1. Military Service Exemption at Large Companies Revived After 14 Years

Key summary: The Ministry of Science and ICT has recommended nine research institutes under four companies — LG Electronics, HD Hyundai Robotics, Samsung Medison and Samsung Electronics — as designated employers for the specialized research personnel program, reviving after 14 years a military service exemption at large companies that was halted entirely in 2013. Under the program, master's and doctoral degree holders in science and engineering work at research sites for three years instead of performing military service. Discussions about reviving it gained momentum amid continued criticism that the suspension was encouraging career interruptions and an outflow of science and engineering talent overseas. Of 240 specialized research personnel in artificial intelligence over the three years from 2027 through 2029, 120 a year will be assigned to research institutes affiliated with large companies. Analysts said the change will directly affect the career paths of new hires in science and engineering and of young people considering graduate school.

2. "The Power to Ask 'Why' Matters More" — Seoul National University Humanities Dean on the AI Era

Key summary: With the release of OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra prompting assessments that the era of artificial general intelligence has arrived, Ahn Ji-hyun, dean of the College of Humanities at Seoul National University, said that "the more we live in an age when AI produces answers in seconds, the more important the power to judge for oneself becomes." In the AI industry as well, companies are actively recruiting people with humanistic thinking skills, with Google DeepMind hiring Cambridge University professor Henry Shevlin under the title of "philosopher." Ahn said an experiment with undergraduates found almost no difference in quality between a piece of writing produced with AI in one minute and one written over 10 hours, and argued for a dual strategy that combines the use of AI tools with building "thinking muscle." Efforts to redefine the direction of education in the AI era are also continuing through the "Ingongseowon" (a wordplay combining "artificial intelligence" and "seowon," a traditional Confucian academy) project with Seoul National University's College of Engineering and the launch of a Humanities AI Center next semester.

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

Key summary: LG held its "LG Aimers" hackathon over two days at the LG Academy for Leadership Development in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, drawing a record 3,393 participants, of whom 96 advanced to the finals after beating out competition of 34 to 1. This year's task was to develop an AI model predicting the probability that a pitcher would successfully place a pitch, and participants built models on site using game-context data. The top three teams shared a total of 10 million won in prize money, and because winners can be exempted from the document screening stage when applying to LG, the hackathon is being seen as emerging as a substantive route to employment. Held alongside the hackathon were a recruitment fair involving four major LG affiliates and one-on-one employment consulting, making the event a practical stage linking AI skills development with job seeking.

4. Legal Action Against 1,000 Student Loan Defaulters Draws Criticism of Public Agency's Double Standard

Key summary: The Korea Student Aid Foundation took legal action, including lawsuits, provisional seizures and compulsory execution, against 1,078 long-term delinquent debtors through the end of July this year to recover a combined 7.9 billion won. Loans delinquent for seven years or more totaled 42,660 cases at the end of July this year, up 72% from 2022, and among 50,101 debtors delinquent for six months or more, those aged 40 and over accounted for 37.9%, pointing to a graying of student loan delinquency. Critics said the approach is inconsistent, with the government pressing private financial firms to forgive debt while the foundation, a public agency, continues aggressive collection. Analysts said the management of delinquent loans needs to be reworked from the perspective of vulnerable young people so that student loans do not become a shackle on entry into society.

5. Changwon's Population of 1 Million at Risk as Absence of a Career Ladder Pushes Young People Out

Key summary: The total population of Changwon in South Gyeongsang Province has fallen to just 9,003 above the 1 million threshold for special city status, and the number of Korean residents in their 20s and 30s has plunged by more than 120,000 since 2010, raising alarms over an exodus of young people. The net outflow rate among those aged 25 to 29 worsened sharply from minus 3.48% in 2015 to minus 8.47% in 2024, and the main cause is identified not as a shortage of jobs in absolute terms but as the absence of an upper-tier labor market where young people who have built experience can move into jobs with higher pay and greater expertise. About 40% of 800 young people surveyed said they intended or planned to move out of Changwon, and living conditions such as housing, culture and care services were found to weigh more heavily on decisions to settle among those in their 30s. Analysts said that building a labor market structure in which young people can advance their careers within the region — rather than simply attracting factories and jobs — is directly tied to the sustainability of a manufacturing hub city.

6. LS Chairman Koo Ja-eun: "We Must Become an Organization That Enjoys the Speed of AI"

Key summary: LS Chairman Koo Ja-eun called on some 500 executives and employees, including the CEOs of major affiliates, to catch up with changes in the AI era faster than anyone else and lift the competitiveness of their businesses, speaking at the fifth "LS Future Day" held on the 18th at LS Tower in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province. Koo stressed that the group must "dramatically raise productivity in offices and on manufacturing floors and add AI to create new value that customers can feel," and more than 500 new business ideas have been generated in total since the event began. Speakers at this year's event included Yoon Song-yee, chief executive of Principle Venture Partners; Yoon Sung-roh, a professor at Seoul National University; and Kim Jang-hyun, a partner at Boston Consulting Group, who shared strategies for developing talent in the AI era and applying AI on industrial sites. With large companies accelerating efforts to internalize AI strategies and strengthen employee skills at the group level, analysts said new hires also need to understand their own company's direction on AI transformation and build related skills in advance.