00:02You're listening to AI Prism from Seoul Economic Daily.
00:06If you're in your first five years at a Korean company, today's job numbers cut close to home.
00:12Wage jobs grew 1.4% this quarter, but people in their 20s actually lost jobs, not gamed them.
00:20Manufacturing shed 26,000 entry-level jobs alone.
00:24KT just launched a company-wide AI overhaul, touching how every employee's daily workflow runs.
00:31And large companies are paying entry to mid-staff 56% more per month than smaller firms, without a matching
00:38gap in hours worked.
00:40It's Tuesday, August 25th. Let's talk about a trend affecting young professionals in Korea.
00:46This quarter's wage job data shows a widening split between large and small employers, just as several major firms restructure
00:55around AI.
00:57KT's NextIT initiative rebuilds core platforms, infrastructure, and internal AI agent tools across the company, changing how daily work gets
01:07done.
01:08SK Telecom, meanwhile, is investing directly in AI education pipelines with Seoul National University, a signal of where future internal
01:18hiring and promotion tracks may lean.
01:20Here's what the numbers show.
01:22Employees at companies with 300 or more workers earned 5,738,000 won a month on average, 56% more
01:32than the 3,667,000 won at smaller firms.
01:38KT rolled out its NextIT strategy on August 24th, rebuilding its ERP, customer platforms, and internal AI agent systems company
01:47-wide.
01:49SK Telecom's AI program with Seoul National University starts September 1st and runs 15 weeks, covering AI applications, modeling, and
01:58infrastructure.
02:01Manufacturing jobs for workers 20 and under fell by 26,000 this quarter, the sharpest decline of any industry for
02:08that age group.
02:09Working hours between large and small firms differed by only 7.9 hours a month, at 170.3 versus 162
02:19.4 hours.
02:20So what does this mean for young professionals in Korea?
02:24Earlier, we said manufacturing shed the most entry-level jobs this quarter.
02:29Here's what that actually means for you.
02:32If you're early career in manufacturing, the safer near-term bets are firms actively investing in AI transformation, like KT,
02:40where internal re-skilling is already underway.
02:43The 56% pay gap between large and small firms, without a matching gap in hours, makes company size still
02:52the single biggest lever on your compensation trajectory right now.
02:56Watch whether SK Telecom's and KT's AI pushes translate into actual internal hiring or just retraining.
03:03That will tell you if AI skills are becoming a promotion requirement or just a nice-to-have.
03:10That's today's AI Prism, Early Careers.
03:13This episode was produced with AI assistance based on Seoul Economic Daily reporting and reviewed by a human editor.
03:21AI Prism is a Juan Ifra award-winning series. We'll be back tomorrow.
03:26You've been listening to AI Prism from Seoul Economic Daily.
03:30Grey of Chinese daily.
03:30Good luck to me, keep it safe.
03:33Question from Seoul Money Pandemic.
03:33It won't happen.
03:34parties could come get the money and the leichter of the school.
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