AI Becomes Standard in Corporate Hiring as 9 in 10 Top Korean Firms Adopt Automation (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly nine in ten of South Korea’s top 500 companies are using artificial intelligence in some form to manage personnel tasks, and more than one in five already rely on AI in hiring decisions, according to a government survey released Friday.
The annual “2025 Corporate Hiring Trends Survey,” conducted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Employment Information Service, polled HR managers at large corporations and more than 3,000 young employees across 17 regions.
Of the 396 companies that responded, 86.7 percent said they utilize AI tools either formally or informally in HR functions. Among firms that have formally adopted AI, more than half said they use it in recruitment, followed by training and employee inquiries.
Roughly 22 percent of companies said they already employ AI in hiring, most commonly for aptitude or competency testing, screening application materials, and assisting with interview assessments. And 74.5 percent said they plan to introduce or expand AI-driven hiring tools, citing the desire for more data-based decisions and faster screening.
But a quarter of companies remain reluctant. The most frequent concerns include doubts about fairness and objectivity, and fears that humans would still need to make final decisions, undermining any efficiency gains.
Young job seekers, by contrast, are embracing AI at high rates. More than 42 percent said they used AI tools while preparing for employment—mostly for résumés and self-introductions—and nearly 87 percent found the tools helpful. Among young employees, 62 percent said they already use AI at work, especially in IT, marketing, R&D and sales roles.
Still, concerns persist. Young workers cited worries about opaque evaluation standards, biased judgments and the risk that AI could distort self-expression. Many urged the government to verify the accuracy and fairness of AI-based assessments and require advance notice of what criteria AI tools will evaluate.
In response, the labor ministry said it will publish ethical standards and checklists for the use of AI in recruitment by the end of the year and move to strengthen legal protections under the hiring procedures law. The government is also expanding AI-related training programs and equipping 42 public employment centers with AI interview rooms.
“The government will help companies adopt AI in a fairer and more transparent way, while giving young people more opportunities to build AI-related competencies,” said Lim Young-mi, the ministry’s employment policy director.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
