Korea Human Resources Development Service commits 4.6 billion won to 8 AI projects with only 1 specialist
Park Jeong: agencies must build capacity to design, verify and operate AI projects
Eight agencies under the Ministry of Employment and Labor are spending about 16.4 billion won ($12.4 million) on AI-related projects this year, yet four of them — half the total — have no AI specialists on staff, according to data submitted to the National Assembly. Critics say the agencies are expanding AI use in areas that directly affect people's lives, such as national technical qualification reviews and industrial accident compensation, without building the internal capacity to design, verify or operate those systems.
The figures come from data submitted to Lawmaker Park Jeong of the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee. The combined AI budget across the eight agencies this year totals about 16.38 billion won.
Among them, the Korea Employment and Labor Education Institute, the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency, the Construction Workers Mutual Aid Association and the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service all reported zero AI specialists.
The Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency is allocating 1.56 billion won to build a next-generation social enterprise information system, while the Korea Employment and Labor Education Institute is putting 530 million won toward an AI-powered learning recommendation and platform upgrade. The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service has budgeted 80 million won to deploy an AI model for predicting disability ratings and build its operating environment, and the Construction Workers Mutual Aid Association has set aside 31.68 million won for an AI-based real-time interpretation and translation service — yet all four agencies have zero AI specialists.
The Korea Human Resources Development Service is committing 4.6 billion won to eight AI projects but has just one specialist. Those projects apply AI to tasks including document screening for national technical qualification applicants, employer-sponsored training reviews, customized work-learning program recommendations and overseas employment application processing.
The gap in specialist headcounts across agencies is stark. The Korea Employment Information Service, which has the largest AI budget at 8.73 billion won, has secured 23 specialists. The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency has 11 specialists against a budget of 600 million won, and the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities has three specialists with a budget of 240 million won.
The criteria for designating AI specialists also appear unclear. According to Park's office, none of the agencies had transparent standards for classifying staff as AI specialists. The Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities reported three specialists, but only one held AI-related work experience or an academic degree in the field.
"Just as important as adopting AI is building the internal capacity to properly design, verify and operate those projects," Park said. "Agencies must put in place a system to secure and manage the specialists they need as their AI projects expand."
fact0514@heraldcorp.com
