The key themes for recruitment among major companies in the second half of this year have been identified as proficiency in artificial intelligence (AI), communication skills, and job expertise.
On September 16, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced the results of its "2025 Second Half Corporate Recruitment Trend Survey," which was conducted through the business communication platform "Sople" and targeted HR managers at more than 500 companies. According to the survey, 69.2% of companies responded that they consider AI capabilities when hiring. This was followed by communication and collaboration skills (55.4%) and job expertise (54.9%) as important factors.
Other qualities cited included a challenging spirit and problem-solving ability (25.8%), creativity and innovation (25.0%), execution and initiative (20.8%), ethics and trustworthiness (19.0%), and global competence (6.8%).
There was also a strong preference for experienced professionals. Of the companies surveyed, 51% stated that they prioritize experienced hires, while only 10.3% preferred entry-level employees. Companies that expressed no strong preference between entry-level and experienced hires accounted for 38.7%.
Demand for AI specialists was also clear. A total of 69.4% of companies acknowledged the need for such talent, with preferences in the following order: data collection and preprocessing specialists (31.6%), AI-based planning and operations professionals (25.9%), and AI program developers (15.8%).
Changes in labor-related regulations were also found to have a significant impact on recruitment. A total of 97.4% of companies said they were affected, with the main issues cited as the 4.5-day workweek (29.3%), extension of the retirement age (26.7%), the Yellow Envelope Law (25.8%), and the abolition of the comprehensive wage system (15.5%).
Lee Jongmyung, head of the Industrial Innovation Division at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated, "As companies have recently been focusing on AI transformation, AI proficiency has become a key theme in recruitment for the second half of the year. It is now a critical time for both the public and private sectors to make careful efforts to prevent mismatches in workforce supply and demand."
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