At the APEC 2025 welcome dinner held on October 31 at Lahan Select Hotel in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, violinist Kim Yeon-ah performs alongside the quadruped companion robot “Spot.” (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s rapid adoption of industrial robots has boosted employment among younger workers under 45, while reducing job opportunities for older employees, a new study shows—highlighting how automation is reshaping the nation’s labor market and education trends.
According to a report released Sunday by the Korea Labor Institute titled “Technological Innovation and Labor Market and Human Capital Changes: Focus on Robot Adoption,” robot deployment between 2005 and 2020 increased employment rates among those under 45, particularly in the 25-to-34 age group, but decreased employment for workers aged 45 and older.
Researchers attributed the generational divide to differing levels of adaptability to automation and digital technologies.
Overall, robot adoption was found to raise employment in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries, suggesting that productivity gains outweighed the so-called “substitution effect” of machines replacing human labor.
In manufacturing, most of the new positions created were full-time jobs—about 83 percent of total employment growth—whereas in non-manufacturing sectors, many of the new roles were temporary or daily jobs. Wages increased across both sectors, though pay growth was stronger in manufacturing.
Beyond employment, the report found that automation is influencing human capital formation. As robots raised productivity among lower-skilled workers and contributed to wage gains, college enrollment rates fell by roughly 1.2 percentage points between 2010 and 2020. High school graduates were less likely to continue directly to university, suggesting a reduced incentive for higher education as the wage gap between skilled and unskilled workers narrowed.
While the share of engineering majors among college graduates increased, enrollment in arts and physical education programs declined.
“Automation and artificial intelligence are not merely transforming employment structures—they are reshaping how human capital is formed,” the report said. It called for strengthened STEM education, improved vocational training systems, and broader learning pathways to prepare workers for the evolving industrial landscape.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
