"The More Capable, the More They Leave"... Korea's AI Talent Outflow Worsens

Ranked 35th Among 38 OECD Countries in Net Outflow of AI Talent
Huge Gap with Luxembourg and Germany
Over 500 Million Won Lost per Professional Due to Tax and Education Costs
Seniority-Based and Rigid Organizational Culture Creates a "More Capable, More Likely to Leave" Structure
SGI: "A 'Brain Gain' Strategy Needed to Promote Talent Circulation, Not Just Outflow Suppression"

As the outflow of highly skilled domestic talent overseas intensifies, there are growing calls for a policy shift beyond simply curbing this outflow, toward promoting the circulation of talent.

The Sustainable Growth Initiative (SGI) of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry stated in its report, "Economic Impact and Response Measures to the Outflow of Highly Skilled Talent from Korea," released on the 17th, that "Korea's brain balance deficit is widening." SGI newly defined the brain balance as a net figure representing the difference between the outflow of domestic professionals to overseas and the inflow of foreign professionals into Korea.

According to the report, as of 2024, Korea ranked 35th among the 38 OECD countries in terms of net outflow of artificial intelligence (AI) talent per 10,000 people, at 0.36. This was a stark contrast to major countries such as Luxembourg (+8.92), Germany (+2.13), and the United States (+1.07).

Statistics on the movement of professionals also showed a continued net outflow. The number of professionals leaving Korea increased from 125,000 in 2019 to 129,000 in 2021, while the inflow of foreign professionals into Korea decreased from 47,000 to 45,000 during the same period. As a result, the brain balance deficit widened from 78,000 to 84,000.

For scientific and academic researchers, there was also a net outflow, with more leaving than entering. The overseas job transfer rate of domestic researchers was 2.85%, which was 0.21 percentage points higher than the domestic inflow rate of foreign researchers at 2.64%. This ranked Korea 33rd out of 43 surveyed countries, placing it in the lower tier.

SGI identified structural causes of talent outflow, including a short-term performance-oriented evaluation system, a seniority-based compensation structure, insufficient research infrastructure, and limited opportunities for international collaboration. SGI particularly analyzed that the higher the performance, the greater the tendency to migrate overseas, describing this as a "structure where the more capable, the more likely they are to leave."

The national loss per professional was also significant. The lifetime public education cost for a domestic university graduate was estimated at approximately 214.83 million won, while the tax revenue loss incurred when such talent emigrates overseas was about 340.67 million won. SGI warned that these losses have a negative impact on national finances and technological innovation capacity.

As countermeasures, SGI proposed a shift to a performance-based compensation system, differentiated rewards based on research achievements, and the introduction of flexible labor systems such as exceptions to the 52-hour workweek. SGI emphasized that policy direction should move beyond simply restricting outflows, toward a "brain gain" strategy that enables the inflow and circulation of both domestic and international talent.