"Korea Ranks 28th Globally in AI Talent...Urgent Need for Capability Building in Both Individuals and Companies"

Martial Arts and AI Experts Invited to Host 'Muyeok Academy Open Lecture'

The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) announced on the 25th that it held a special lecture for the AI Trade Academy at the Trade Tower in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

KITA stated that the special lecture was held to convey the necessity of AI adoption in the trade industry and the importance of nurturing AI talent. A total of 170 company representatives, employees, and university students attended the lecture.

KITA explained that while the global AI transition speed, including ChatGPT, is rapidly accelerating, the domestic industry's preparation speed and talent development level are still insufficient.

According to last year's Global AI Index survey by Totus Intelligence, a UK data analysis media, South Korea ranks only 28th in AI talent. The top three are the United States (1st), China (2nd), and the United Kingdom (3rd). In this survey, South Korea ranked 7th overall, 6th in infrastructure, 12th in research level, and 3rd in development.

A 2020 survey by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) showed that only 4% of domestic companies had adopted AI technology. Twenty-three percent of companies stated they planned to adopt AI by 2025. However, as generative AI like ChatGPT has recently gained tremendous popularity, the proportion of companies hoping to adopt AI may gradually increase.

Seo Young-joo, Director of AI Research at POSTECH, is giving a keynote speech at the Trade Academy Open Lecture.
[Photo by Korea International Trade Association]

Seo Young-joo, Director of the AI Research Institute at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), said in his special lecture presentation, "Historian and cultural scholar Yuval Harari said that by the time students reach their 40s, 80-90% of the knowledge they learned becomes useless," adding, "Individuals need to possess the '4Cs'?creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication?and enhance AI literacy to creatively utilize algorithms."

The 4Cs presented by Director Seo refer to Creativity, Critical thinking, Collaboration, and Communication.

Kim Hyun-jung, CEO of IBM Consulting, stated, "AI adoption is a matter of corporate survival," emphasizing, "To successfully implement AI solutions within a company, it is important to have reliable data and governance and to train AI models."

A special lecture is being held with the attendance of over 170 company representatives, executives, and university students.
[Photo by Muhyup]

Park Yeon-woo, Secretary General of KITA's Trade Academy, said, "Securing talent is essential for digital transformation in the trade industry," adding, "KITA will gradually expand AI education by level to nurture AI human resources."

On the 3rd, KITA signed a business agreement with POSTECH to nurture AI talent in the trade industry. Based on this agreement, KITA plans to expand AI education by level, industry, and job function by launching a university student course in July and an executive course in September.