"AI's impact on jobs to be monitored in real time... income-gap measures left for 'future discussion'", 9 July 2026

As artificial intelligence (AI) replaces human labour and the petrochemical industry contracts, the AI and green transition is expected to reshape industrial paradigms and threaten jobs. In response, the government has unveiled, for the first time, a master plan to monitor changes in employment in real time and put in place a social safety net.

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First, the government will build a system to continuously monitor employment changes arising from industrial transition. By next year, it will develop a "Korean AI Exposure Index" tailored to the Korean labour market to analyse how AI affects different jobs. Based on this, it will identify occupations most affected by AI and operate a "Korean Canary Dashboard" that shows employment changes by industry and age group in real time (...) which tracks employment changes in occupational groups with high AI exposure. The government plans to devise tailored measures if the monitoring reveals signs of job risk.

Regions hit hardest by the shock of industrial transition will be designated "Just Transition Special Zones", with administrative and financial support concentrated there. The government expects that as renewable energy facilities are rolled out, new jobs will also be created, with "green-collar" occupations such as operation and maintenance expected to grow.