▲ AI PRISM* Customized Economic Briefing
*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an 'AI-based customized news recommendation and summarization service' developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items for each reader type.
[Key Issue Briefing]
■ AI Era Accelerates Winnowing in SaaS Industry: ServiceNow has introduced a hybrid pricing model combining subscription fees with AI usage, reshaping SaaS revenue structures. As the gap widens between companies quickly adapting to AI and those that cannot, analysts say AI utilization capabilities have emerged as a core competitive advantage for job seekers.
■ Kia Bets 49 Trillion Won on Future Mobility: Kia will invest 49 trillion won ($36 billion) through 2030 to accelerate growth across humanoid robots, autonomous driving, and electric vehicles. Demand for engineering talent in advanced fields such as robotics and SDV is expected to surge.
■ Olive Young's Non-Capital Region Expansion Creates Local Jobs: CJ Olive Young is investing 123.8 billion won in non-capital regions and hiring 600 new employees this year. The company is establishing itself as a new model for youth employment by providing career paths from part-time work to full-time positions.
[News of Interest to College Students and Job Seekers]
1. "Token-Based AI Pricing" ServiceNow Upends the Software Industry
- Key Summary: ServiceNow has introduced a hybrid pricing model combining monthly subscription fees with token costs based on AI usage. After Anthropic's AI agent launch earlier this year triggered a 30-40% stock price collapse for SaaS companies and spread crisis concerns across the industry, ServiceNow is confronting the challenge head-on with AI capabilities accumulated over four years. President Amit Zavery emphasized, "Pain will follow for companies that don't understand AI," adding that talent with adaptability and AI utilization skills will be preferred. Analysts say those preparing for careers in SaaS and platform sectors in the AI era need the ability to understand revenue model changes.
2. Kia to Deploy 'Atlas' at U.S. Georgia Plant in 3 Years — Pouring 49 Trillion Won Over 5 Years
- Key Summary: Kia unveiled plans to deploy its humanoid robot 'Atlas' at its U.S. Georgia plant in 2029, complete SDV (Software-Defined Vehicle) development by 2027, and launch Level 2++ urban autonomous driving by 2029. The company will invest a total of 49 trillion won ($36 billion) through 2030, allocating 21 trillion won to future business areas — an 11% increase from previous plans. For EVs, Kia aims to expand its lineup to 14 models and sell 1 million units annually by 2030. The massive investment in robotics, autonomous driving, and electrification is expected to significantly expand demand for related engineering talent.
3. Regional and Youth Shared Growth — Olive Young Increases Non-Capital Region Investment
- Key Summary: CJ Olive Young is investing 123.8 billion won this year in new store openings, renovations, and logistics infrastructure in non-capital regions. This represents more than a threefold increase from 39 billion won in 2023, with 43 of 78 large-format stores deployed entirely in non-capital regions. Each town store employs an average of 55 people, with plans to hire 600 new employees in non-capital regions this year alone. More than 90% of those converted to full-time positions last year had part-time work experience, opening new entry paths in the retail sector for job seekers considering employment outside the capital region.
[Reference News for College Students and Job Seekers]
4. LG Launches EXAONE 4.5 with Vision Capabilities — "Surpasses OpenAI and Google"
- Key Summary: LG AI Research unveiled EXAONE 4.5, a vision-language model (VLM). It outperformed OpenAI's GPT-5 Mini, Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4.5, and Alibaba's Qwen3-VL across an average of 13 visual benchmarks. It also ranked first in STEM capabilities (77.3 points) and coding evaluation (81.4 points), surpassing Google's Gemma 4 (80 points). With 33 billion parameters — one-seventh the size of existing large models — while delivering top performance, the achievement demonstrates the global competitiveness of Korean homegrown AI.
5. High-Rated Small Businesses on Naver to Get Higher Loan Limits and Preferential Rates
- Key Summary: The Financial Services Commission will introduce an AI-based small business credit scoring model (SCB) starting in August. The system calculates growth ratings using non-financial data from Naver Place and Smart Store, including return rates, repeat visit rates, and bookmarks. It is expected to newly supply 10.5 trillion won annually to 700,000 businesses and generate 84.5 billion won in annual interest rate savings. As AI-based credit evaluation expands, growth potential for fintech and data analysis positions is increasing.
6. U.S. Pressures Allies to Tighten China Semiconductor Restrictions — ASML Caught in Crossfire
- Key Summary: The U.S. Congress has introduced the MATCH ACT, mandating allied nations to comply with semiconductor equipment export restrictions against China. ASML's China revenue share is projected to drop from 41% in 2024 to 20% this year, while Tokyo Electron's is expected to fall to 25%. Concerns are rising that export control exemptions for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix's China operations could face increased uncertainty if the MATCH ACT is strengthened. As semiconductor supply chain restructuring accelerates, changes to talent supply structures across related industries are seen as inevitable.
▶ Read the full article: [[LINK_0]]Foreign Capital Outflow of 54 Trillion Won Amid Middle East War — Record High[[/LINK_0]]
▶ Read the full article: [[LINK_0]]Investing 110 Trillion Won Annually Yet "Labor's Demands Would Mean Abandoning Future Business and R&D"[[/LINK_0]]
▶ Read the full article: Samsung Electronics' Record Results Lift KOSPI Full-Year Operating Profit Forecast by 16%
