Korea will develop a "Korean-style index" that provides an at-a-glance view of how artificial intelligence (AI) will transform the job market. The government will also build a system to detect and respond to AI-driven employment crises in advance, while thickening its support network to help citizens adapt to the AI job market.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) said it announced the "Basic Plan for Employment Stability Amid Industrial Transition" with related ministries at a national policy coordination meeting on the 9th. The basic plan is a five-year blueprint for the government to respond, together with labor and management, to job market changes created by the emergence of AI, following the climate crisis and population decline. AI has been identified as a crisis factor in the job market, restructuring industries, reducing jobs, and widening skill gaps among workers.
The core measure is a plan to develop a "Korean AI Exposure Index" next year. Until now, analyses of AI's impact have been conducted by plugging Korean occupational data into overseas indexes. This drew frequent criticism that it was difficult to capture the distinct characteristics of Korea's labor market. The government decided to develop an "index," which is more difficult than an "indicator," to grasp job market changes intuitively and comprehensively. The exposure index will be used as a "Korean-style canary dashboard" that preemptively detects changes and crises in the AI job market. The canary symbolizes the danger alarm once used in coal mines, where the birds were the first to detect toxic gases. The two analytical systems will serve as the basis for government policy and public information. Based on them, the government plans to create an "industrial transition jobs map." The map will show job changes unfolding by region, industry, and occupation in real time.
Government support will also be strengthened to help workers adapt to the AI job market. The government plans to provide AI vocational training to more than 1 million people from this year through 2030. To prevent employment insecurity during the industrial transition, the government will gradually expand mandatory reemployment support services from workplaces with 1,000 or more workers to those with 300 or more by 2029. Support will also be expanded in line with lower barriers to tech startups brought by AI adoption. Young people will be able to receive everything from financial support to direct consulting from entrepreneurs. The same applies to companies. Both companies that maintain employment through the industrial transition and those that take on new AI industries will face lower thresholds for support.
Protection for vulnerable groups struggling to adapt to the AI job market will also be reinforced. The government will divide its support systems by region and industry. Regions undergoing coal power plant closures will be designated as special zones eligible for separate support. Jobs at "social enterprises," which have a high share of vulnerable workers, will be expanded to 90,000 by 2030. The basic plan also includes the goal of establishing new social standards in response to changes the AI job market will bring. The government will create a new committee to discuss income inequality and ethics in the AI era, and begin public deliberation.
The government plans to update the five-year basic plan annually so that policy does not fall behind the pace of change in the AI era. "Employment stability in workplaces facing fundamental change is a national task," Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said. "We will develop the basic plan together with labor and management."
