▲AI PRISM* Customized Economic Briefing
*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an 'AI-based personalized news recommendation and summary service' developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items by reader type.
[Key Issue Briefing]
■ College Graduate Unemployment Hits Highest Since COVID-19: The number of unemployed people with college degrees or higher reached 481,000 in the second quarter of this year, up 39,000 from a year earlier, marking the highest level in five years since 2021. This far exceeded the increase in total unemployment (11,000), showing that the employment crisis is concentrated among the college-educated. Companies' preference for experienced hires and reduced entry-level recruitment due to AI adoption are cited as the main causes.
■ Accelerating Shift in Science and Engineering Career Paths: The number of gifted and science high school graduates who entered the four science and technology institutes this year reached 844, up 7.9% from the previous year and marking the highest level in three years. As the strong semiconductor market conditions and moves to improve treatment for science and engineering fields converge, more top talent is choosing science and engineering over medical schools, with a clear concentration toward employment-linked departments such as semiconductor contract departments.
■ Manufacturing AI Conversion Golden Time Approaching: While 36.8% of skilled workers in root industries are aged 50 or older, those under 30 account for only 10.3%, making the crisis of technological disruption visible. Small and medium-sized enterprises that have adopted manufacturing AI account for only 0.1% of the total, and a sense of urgency is spreading throughout the industry that tacit knowledge must be converted into data before skilled workers retire.
[News of Interest to College Students and Job Seekers]
1. College Graduate Unemployed at 481,000, Highest in 5 Years
Key Summary: The number of unemployed people with college degrees or higher reached 481,000 in the second quarter of this year, up 39,000 from a year earlier, marking the highest level since 2021 (521,000). Compared to the increase in total unemployment (11,000), this reflects an employment crisis particularly concentrated among the college-educated, and the second-quarter unemployment rate for those with college degrees or higher also rose 0.2 percentage points from the same period last year to 3.0%. Some 64.2% (309,000) of unemployed college graduates were in their 20s and 30s, and in particular, the college graduate unemployment rate for those in their 20s soared to 8.3%, the highest level since 2021 (9.6%). Professor Lee Jung-hee of Chung-Ang University explained that a structure in which companies prefer "second-hand new hires" over fresh graduates for cost-cutting is becoming entrenched, and Professor Seok Byoung-hoon of Ewha Womans University pointed out that young people are being hit hardest by AI displacement, citing an analysis showing that AI replaces the most jobs held by workers with less than five years of experience.
2. 844 Gifted and Science High School Students Choose Science Institutes, Highest in 3 Years
Key Summary: The number of gifted and science high school graduates who entered the four science and technology institutes for the 2026 academic year was 844, up 7.9% (62) from the previous year and the highest in the past three years. This figure temporarily fell to 782 in the 2025 academic year, when medical school quotas were expanded by 1.5 times, before rebounding this year, with analysts attributing it to the combined effect of strong semiconductor market conditions and expectations for improved treatment in science and engineering fields. A clear increase in gifted and science high school graduates was also observed at Sungkyunkwan University (224→236) and Hanyang University (90→108), which operate semiconductor contract departments, and at Seoul National University's Advanced Convergence Department (554→576). However, some forecast that the trend toward science and engineering could reverse again in the 2027 academic year due to the expansion of medical school quotas following the introduction of the regional physician system.
3. Only 0.1% of SMEs Adopt Manufacturing AI…Tacit Knowledge at Risk of Disappearing
Key Summary: Of the 744,543 workers in root industries, skilled workers aged 50 or older account for 36.8%, while those under 30 account for only 10.3%, meaning new entrants are not filling the gap left by retiring personnel. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's "Manufacturing Tacit Knowledge-Based AI Model Development Project" drew 143 consortiums at a competition ratio of 4.77 to 1, and of the 598 participating organizations, 438 were small and medium-sized enterprises, directly revealing the urgency in the field. However, companies that have actually adopted manufacturing AI account for only 0.1% of the total, and only 0.8% have dedicated organizations for manufacturing data and AI, making the foundation itself extremely weak. A division of roles in which public research institutes develop foundation models and the private sector handles field application is being proposed as a solution for AX expansion, and observers say demand for personnel in manufacturing AI and data jobs will begin in earnest.
[Reference News for College Students and Job Seekers]
4. Daejeon to Train 712 Bio Talents Annually with 52.2 Billion Won
Key Summary: Daejeon City is pursuing a bio-specialist training project worth a total of 52.2 billion won and building a system to supply 712 talents annually. It is a structure that supplies personnel across the entire cycle in one city, from high school graduate field workers to bachelor's-level process and quality control personnel, master's and doctoral-level R&D personnel, and physician-scientists, characterized by customized education that directly reflects corporate demand. Daejeon's bio cluster competitiveness is becoming visible, with global company Merck, which is building the "Asia-Pacific Bioprocessing Production Center" in the Dungok International Science Business Belt, expressing high satisfaction in terms of securing personnel. As expansion into new growth areas such as AI bio and digital healthcare is also planned, observers say that employment paths to regional hub companies will broaden for job seekers preparing careers in related fields.
5. Samsung SDS Targets 6.6 Trillion Won in AI Data Center Revenue
Key Summary: Samsung SDS has unveiled a target to raise its data center business revenue from the current 1 trillion won level to around 6.6 trillion won, about six times higher, by 2031. Centered on the Haenam Korea AI Computing Center (40MW) scheduled to open in 2028 and the Gumi AI Data Center (60MW) targeted for 2029, the company will carry out projects in two phases, aiming to add 1 trillion won in annual revenue by securing over 500MW by 2031 through DBO projects alone, which handle design, construction, and operation as a package. According to McKinsey, the scale of AI inference workloads is expected to more than quadruple from 20.9GW last year to 93.3GW by 2030, underpinning the surge in data center demand. As LG (003550) CNS and Elice Group, which have data center operating experience, also move to build modular data centers in Busan at the end of this year, investment by companies in the AI infrastructure sector is following one after another, raising expectations for expanded recruitment in related infrastructure and operations jobs.
6. K-Fashion Accelerates Competition to Secure Southeast Asia Bases
Key Summary: Domestic fashion companies such as Shinsegae Tomboy, Musinsa, and W Concept are speeding up the establishment of local subsidiaries and the opening of offline stores, centered on Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Shinsegae Tomboy opened standalone "Studio Tomboy" and "Vov" stores at Singapore's Metro department store, and Musinsa established a Taiwan branch and plans to open about 15 local stores over the next five years. Sales at Musinsa's Taiwan global store have grown more than twofold on average annually over the past three years, and local response is enthusiastic, with more than 1,100 people applying within 30 minutes for tickets to the Hallyu concert at the Vietnam Hallyu Expo. As overseas interest spreads to K-fashion following K-beauty, forecasts suggest competition to preempt local distribution networks and offline contact points will intensify further, and observers say demand for overseas marketing and merchandising jobs in the fashion and distribution sectors will also increase.
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