00:00Korea's job market shifted in a way that matters for you.
00:0360% of public institutions that hired full-time staff this year
00:06brought in zero high school graduates.
00:09Before you submit that application, let's look at what's changing.
00:12Samsung is building the infrastructure for its robotics push.
00:15And a Korean company just completed the first overseas AI data center
00:19built by a domestic firm.
00:20It's Tuesday, November 3rd.
00:22Let's look at what this means for job seekers and graduates in Korea.
00:26Korea's president framed next year's budget around one idea.
00:29Growth that reaches everyone, not just a few regions or companies.
00:33The 2027 budget totals 820.9 trillion won, up 12.8%, the largest on record.
00:41Youth support receives 43.3 trillion won, and regional growth receives 33 trillion won.
00:47Here's what the numbers show.
00:4860% of public institutions that hired full-time staff last year
00:52recruited zero high school graduates.
00:54Only 9.8% of new full-time hires went to high school graduates.
00:58And the share has stayed in single digits for years.
01:01One railway operator accounted for 27.4% of all public sector high school hires,
01:06which means the pattern is even weaker than the headline suggests.
01:09Samsung SDS opened construction on a 60-megawatt AI data center in Gumi,
01:15scalable to 120 megawatts, targeted for completion in late 2028.
01:19Samsung plans to invest 60 trillion won in a Yongnam robotics cluster,
01:24with Gumi as its first visible step.
01:26Separately, Samsung Electromechanics says the AI server and data center boom
01:31is opening unprecedented growth in its MLCC and substrate businesses.
01:35And LG CNS completed a 30-megawatt AI data center in Jakarta,
01:40the first by a Korean firm for an overseas client.
01:42So what does this mean for students and graduates weighing where to apply this year?
01:46Earlier, we said that public sector hiring for high school graduates remains weak.
01:51Here's what that actually means for you.
01:52If you're a university student, the public sector may not be the safest bet for stable entry.
01:57Look instead at the private firms building AI and data center infrastructure,
02:01where demand for technical and operational talent is rising.
02:05Your next move should depend on whether you want stability in a public role
02:08or exposure to a fast-growing industry.
02:11That's today's AI Prism.
02:13Students and Grads.
02:14This episode was produced with AI Assistants based on Seoul Economic Daily reporting.
02:19AI Prism is a Juan IFRA award-winning series.
02:22We'll be back tomorrow.
