The AI transformation is changing more than just workflows. It's gatekeeping jobs.

This article is by Kim Su-min and read by an artificial voice. In Korea's corporate sector, AI is no longer just a tool — it's reshaping who gets promoted and whether new workers are hired at all. Major local conglomerates are making the AI transformation (AX) a key part of employee management, according to industry sources on Tuesday. But as firms focus on enhancing the skills of existing employees, hiring for entry-level positions is slowing. Surveys and industry voices suggest that as AI takes over routine tasks traditionally handled by junior staff, companies are rethinking the need for new hires altogether — raising concerns about shrinking opportunities for young job seekers and the long-term impact on talent pipelines. One of the fastest adopters of AI in the workplace has been LG Group. LG Display, the display manufacturing arm of the company, now requires employees to complete AX Level 1 — an introductory AI training course — to be eligible for promotion to manager-level positions. Candidates must also submit an AI-related proposal on a topic of their choice and pass an evaluation. As of the end of last year, about 80 percent of LG Display employees had completed AX Level 1. LG Electronics has taken a similar step, making AI-related task performance a required part of executive evaluations starting this year. LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo recently emphasized the importance of this shift, reportedly saying at a recent executive meeting, "AX is not a task for any single organization alone." Samsung Electronics, which has pledged to apply AI across all its operations by 2030, is also stepping up its efforts to build AI capabilities within its work force. Since mid-March, the company has been running specialized AI training programs for some 600 executives at the vice president and senior managing director levels in its Device eXperience division, which oversees its TV, home appliance and mobile businesses. All employees in the division have already completed the basic course of the company's GenAI PowerUser Program, which includes skills such as prompt engineering — the practice of crafting questions to get the most effective responses from AI systems. SK Group has made AI literacy a required part of training programs for new employees, as well as for new executives and team leaders, at its training centers such as SK Academy in Yongin, Gyeonggi. Some of the conglomerate's affiliates have also made completion of AI training a basic requirement for performance evaluations. Hyundai Motor and Kia have similarly been running their own AI training programs by division since late last year. However, efforts to strengthen in-house AI capabilities are expected to further cool an already weak hiring market. In a survey of 227 corporate human resource managers conducted by the JoongAng Ilbo and the recruitment platform Incruit between April 20 and 23, new hires were seen as the primary target for work force reductions linked to AI adoption, cited by 64.8 percent of respondents. The most common reason, chosen by 48.5 percent, was that many basic tasks can now be handled by AI. As a result, the most widely cited response strategy was a gradual reduction in new hiring, selected by 45.2 percent of respondents. The shift is even more pronounced among global tech giants. Meta said it will lay off about 8,000 employees — roughly 10 percent of its work force — starting next month, and has also canceled plans to hire 6,000 new workers. Microsoft recently offered voluntary early retirement to about 7 percent of its U.S. work force, or around 8,700 employees. "We're starting to see projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during a conference call in January. There are growing concerns that as AI takes over routine tasks — traditionally handled by junior staff — it could weaken the career pipeline that helps develop future midlevel talent. "Until recent...