Bank of Korea issue note finds Korea had about 57,000 AI workers in 2024, with rising wage premiums and persistent overseas outflows

The Bank of Korea published an issue note on the labor market and job mobility of AI professionals in Korea based on LinkedIn-derived profile data covering about 1.1 million workers with Korean work experience since 2010 and more than 10 million job histories. It estimates that Korea had about 57,000 AI workers in 2024 and finds that the workforce is both highly educated and increasingly broad-based, with 58% holding master's or doctoral degrees, 64% having engineering majors, and AI talent spreading across more industries and occupations. The note finds that AI skills carried an estimated wage premium of about 6% in 2024, up from 1.3% in 2010, indicating excess demand for AI expertise in the domestic labor market. That premium remains well below the roughly 25% level cited for the United States, while AI workers also show higher turnover and stronger outward mobility, including a 27-percentage-point higher probability of working abroad and about 16% of the AI workforce, or roughly 11,000 workers, employed overseas in 2024. A firm survey cited in the note points to continued hiring demand, with 69.0% of large firms, 68.7% of medium-sized firms and 56.2% of SMEs planning to expand AI hiring, even as shortages of experienced workers and high salary expectations hinder recruitment. The note says AI talent policy should focus not only on expanding headcount but also on improving compensation systems, research-industrial ecosystems and career development pathways to global standards so that skilled workers can be attracted and retained in Korea.