South Korea’s AI Use Is 1.7 Times the Global Average, With ‘AI Skills’ Now a Top Hiring Priority
IT DAILY ·
✦ AI Summary
South Korea’s AI use was found to be 1.7 times more sophisticated than the global average.
The report presented AI proficiency as a major hiring criterion, and 40% of respondents said they prioritize candidates with AI skills.
Using advanced prompts after AI training, rather than basic prompts, was found to improve time savings by 3 times, with productivity gains estimated at KRW 2.3–4.7 million per worker per year.
A survey found that South Korea’s AI use is above the global average. In the report’s analysis, South Korea’s average AI use was presented as 1.7 times more sophisticated than the global average.
The analysis also found that the importance of the ability to go beyond simply using AI and apply it in actual work is growing. The ability to use AI tools on the job has emerged as a key factor in hiring and productivity.
In line with this trend, the report identified AI proficiency as a major hiring criterion. Among workers who participated in the survey, 40% said they prioritize candidates with AI skills when hiring.
Google Korea unveiled the Public First report, "The Growth and Innovation of the Republic of Korea Driven by AI," on the 27th. The report includes these survey findings and analyses.
In the survey, "ability to use AI-based tools" was cited most often, at 35%, as a skill needed for talent. This was followed by "adaptability and willingness to learn new technologies" at 21%, "communication and interpersonal skills" at 12%, and "relevant work experience" at 11%. Formal educational qualifications and personal or professional networks were each recorded at 6%.
The report examined productivity differences by level of AI proficiency. According to the report’s analysis, the time-saving effect of using advanced prompts after AI training was 3 times greater than that of basic prompts. It also estimated that the productivity boost from AI training amounts to KRW 2.3–4.7 million per worker per year.
82% of respondents said AI-related skills would become an important or essential part of their work within the next 5 years. Among full-time workers, 68% said automating routine tasks with AI would increase job satisfaction.
The survey also found both interest in AI training and awareness of the importance of educating children about AI use. 74% of respondents expressed interest in training to strengthen AI skills, while 55% of parents rated the importance of their children learning safe and effective AI use as equal to math and English. Another 30% of parents rated learning safe and effective AI use as more important than math and English.
The survey was conducted online from April 17 to 30 among 1,057 Korean adults. Weighting was applied to the results to ensure national representativeness, using combined age and gender distribution, education level, and region as the weighting criteria.
The report also presented the medium- to long-term economic effects of AI adoption. It forecast that AI-based technologies will contribute to an increase of about KRW 110 trillion in gross value added (GVA) by raising productivity in the service sector, and estimated that the introduction of agentic AI and robotics will increase gross value added by about KRW 41 trillion by 2035. It also projected that growth in AI-related industries and companies will create 530,000 new jobs over the same period.
The figures produced by Public First are projections based on expanded AI adoption, not current economic effects. The actual impact may vary depending on the future pace of AI diffusion and the level of corporate use.
Against this backdrop, Google Korea is operating "AI Olim." "AI Olim" is aimed at young people, developers, and companies, and its training ranges from basic to advanced courses. This year, Google Korea and the Ministry of Employment and Labor introduced the "Google AI Professional Certificate." Google Korea is also running training programs with the Career Plus Centers at Sookmyung Women’s University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and Hanyang Women’s University, among others.
A Google official said there is strong consensus on the importance of AI skills in both the workplace and educational settings. The official also expressed the company’s commitment to supporting practical, area-specific AI use skills for future talent.
Source: IT DAILY · Kim Byeong-ju
Original: https://www.itdaily.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=241256
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Source: IT DAILY
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