Webcash, a provider of business-to-business (B2B) financial solutions, is installing three monitors at every developer's desk. Beyond the monitor for regular tasks, another runs generative artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, while the third is used for vibe coding and similar work. The company spent 40 million won ($29,000) just to reconfigure office space for the three-monitor setup. Webcash, which recently declared its transformation into an AI agent company, believes employees must actively use AI in their work for the firm to survive.
Korean companies are accelerating their AI transformation (AX). Not only information technology firms but also traditional manufacturers feel a sense of crisis that missing the current AX window could threaten their survival. However, while employees agree on the necessity of AX, they also voice anxiety that their jobs could be at risk. As AI begins to shake the labor market, analysts say measures are needed to minimize the shock.
According to industry sources on the 26th, Toss and TMAP Mobility are holding company-wide AI Days every Friday. Starting this month on the 10th, Toss has been running "AI Surf Day" every Friday, allowing interested employees to use AI instead of performing their regular tasks. Both developers and non-developer employees freely form AI-related groups, learn about AI, and produce deliverables. TMAP Mobility has similarly designated Friday afternoons as "AI Shift Day," during which all employees study and practice AI.
Channel Corporation, the operator of AI business messenger "Channel Talk," recently allowed all employees to use unlimited tokens (units of data processing) on Anthropic's AI service Claude. The company had provided employees with Claude's premium plan at the end of February this year, but removed all limits after feedback that tokens were insufficient. As a result, even an in-house cafe barista with no coding experience used vibe coding to build a kiosk ordering application. "It is rare for AI costs per employee to exceed that employee's labor cost, and we are seeing many cases where individual productivity more than doubles," said Lee Kyung-hoon, Chief AI Officer (CAIO) at Channel Corporation. "If we limit token usage to cut costs, new attempts could decrease, so we currently have no plans to restrict token use."
Large corporations are no different. SK Telecom, SK Broadband, and Shinsegae I&C have set "one AI agent per employee" as an in-house goal for this year and are strengthening related training. POSCO DX has also been running its "AX Academy Program" since March, covering everything from AI fundamentals to AI agent planning, design, and development. Through this, the company plans to cultivate about 400 AI agent specialists by the first half of the year. Mid-sized firm Bespin Global plans to introduce a system that evaluates the productivity of AI agents built by employees and eliminates those falling below standards. An AI utilization index will also be reflected in employee performance reviews starting in the first half of this year. Sampyo Group, a construction materials company, has launched an "in-house AI awards program" to encourage executives and employees to use AI to solve on-site problems, such as early prediction of ready-mix concrete compressive strength and real-time logistics dispatch optimization.
Korean companies are betting on AX because they believe failing to adopt it in time could leave them behind. As AI technologies such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude rapidly evolve, even established market leaders such as Adobe and Oracle are being shaken. Companies can only survive by integrating AI into various tasks to boost not only individual employee productivity but also the efficiency of the entire company. "PCs and smartphones were able to change market paradigms and drive innovation because they were actively used at the individual level," an industry official said. "AI agents will also be a catalyst that shakes up the market once again."
However, some argue that strengthening individual AI capabilities does not necessarily lead to improved overall company productivity. They say selective AX work is needed to enhance organizational productivity. Concerns about AI-driven job displacement are another challenge. In fact, Big Tech firms such as Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft are laying off significant numbers of workers as AI makes simple tasks possible. "A well-developed AI agent will advance to the point where it doesn't matter to the company if the employee leaves," said Kim Hyun-chul, chairman of the Korea Artificial Intelligence Association. "I don't know how many years it will take, but not only juniors but also seniors will be replaced, and ultimately only decision-makers such as capital owners will remain."
This is why companies must consider the impact of AX on the labor market. "In the end, AI will replace some jobs, and companies are essentially providing retraining now to prepare for that," said Choi Kyoung-jin, a law professor at Gachon University and head of the AI and Data Policy Research Center. "A structure is forming in which AI replaces lower-level positions while higher-level positions enjoy the efficiency gains. We need to think about how to reduce the shock to people in this process."
