Korea’s AI ambitions meet demographic reality

President Lee Jae Myung’s ambition to make Korea one of the world’s top three artificial intelligence (AI) powers is bold and necessary. Yet AI leadership cannot rest on technology alone; it depends on people. Korea’s rapidly aging population, constrained career pathways for younger workers, and the growing outflow of high-skill professionals are converging just as AI begins to restructure jobs. Unless demographic policy, retirement reform and talent retention are integrated into AI strategy, the nation’s AI vision risks being built on a shrinking and restless workforce. South Korea is aging at one of the fastest rates globally. The country entered “super-aged” status in 2024, with more than 20 percent of its population aged 65 or older. By 2035, that share will rise to nearly 30 percent, a demographic transition that took Japan four decades but is unfolding in Korea in barely twenty years. Rapid aging slows innovation, reduces household spending and places unprecedented pressure on younger generations already navigating stagnant wages and high housing costs. Korea’s eldWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times