00:02You're listening to AI Prism from Seoul Economic Daily.
00:06Demand for security staff in Korea jumped 88% in the first half,
00:11with startups and small firms seeing demand rise more than 2.5 times.
00:16Hanwha Ocean has opened a nuclear submarine development unit
00:20and is hiring experts with five or more years of experience.
00:24The military service agency says its plan to scale back exemptions will be announced soon.
00:30And the government is putting 1.4 trillion won into AI automation at three shipbuilding hubs.
00:36It's Tuesday, October 13th.
00:38Let's look at what this means for job seekers and graduates in Korea.
00:42A string of large data breaches and AI-assisted hacking is driving companies to build dedicated security teams.
00:49At the same time, defense and shipbuilding firms are opening specialized units and recruiting experienced engineers.
00:56And policy changes on military service and industrial investment are reshaping what career paths look like.
01:03Here's what the numbers show.
01:04Demand for information security staff rose 88% in the first half from a year earlier,
01:10with small and mid-sized firms up 175% and startups up 156%.
01:17Cisco's 2025 Readiness Index found 97% of Korean companies feel short of skilled cybersecurity staff
01:27and 34% have unfilled security positions.
01:31Hanwha Ocean will accept applications until October 25th for its new nuclear submarine unit,
01:38seeking experts with five or more years in areas such as nuclear propulsion integration design,
01:45piping stress analysis, and instrumentation and control design.
01:49Military Manpower Administration Chief Hong So-young said,
01:53A decision on art and sports exemptions is under final review in the defense reform plan
01:59and will be announced soon.
02:00The government will invest $1.406 trillion in shipbuilding AI automation at Makpo Yongam,
02:08Gyoheye Busan, and Gunsan, including a $400 billion AI lighthouse factory by HD, Hyundai, Samo,
02:17and Daiya Industry.
02:18A KDI researcher says Korea's long-term growth rate could turn negative from around 2030,
02:24with exports outside ships and cars flat for about 15 years.
02:29So what does this mean for you as you plan your next step?
02:33Earlier, we said demand for security staff jumped 88% in the first half.
02:38Here's what that actually means for you.
02:40Companies are hiring across channels and sizes,
02:43and one recruiter expects demand next year for people who understand cloud and AI environments,
02:50as well as privacy and incident response.
02:53While an industry source says AI will handle routine threat sorting
02:58and leave new threats and final response to people.
03:02Industry-specific roles are also opening up from Hanwha Ocean's nuclear submarine unit
03:08to the AI-driven shipbuilding.
03:10So check application windows early since Hanwha Ocean's closes October 25th.
03:16What to watch?
03:17October 25th, the application deadline for Hanwha Ocean's nuclear submarine unit,
03:24the Defense Ministry's final reform plan on military exemptions expected soon,
03:29and whether the shipbuilding AI hubs deliver success stories for smaller suppliers,
03:34as the industry minister promises.
03:36That's today's AI Prism students and grads.
03:39This episode was produced with AI Assistants based on Seoul Economic Daily reporting
03:44and reviewed by a human editor.
03:47AI Prism is a Juan Ifra award-winning series.
03:50We'll be back tomorrow.
03:51You've been listening to AI Prism from Seoul Economic Daily.
