Young Korean workers hit hardest as AI automation slashes jobs

A recent report from the Ministry of Data and Statistics reveals a sharp decline in youth employment in South Korea, with the vast majority of job losses concentrated in industries heavily reliant on artificial intelligence (AI). In July alone, over half of the jobs shed by young Koreans were in these sectors, marking a significant shift from previous years when youth unemployment primarily stemmed from downturns in traditional manufacturing and in-person services.

According to the latest figures, the number of employed individuals aged between 15 and 29 dropped by more than 191,000 compared to the same period last year. The information and communications sector, which includes computer programming, telecommunications, and digital media publishing, experienced the sharpest decline, losing 74,517 jobs. This represents the sector's most significant single-month job cuts since tracking began in 2014.

Moreover, employment in professional, scientific, and technical services—fields such as legal advice, accounting, corporate consulting, and taxation—also took a hit, with a further 23,640 jobs lost. These two knowledge-intensive sectors combined accounted for 51.3 percent of the total youth employment decrease.