South Korea has fallen into a country of outflow for artificial intelligence (AI) talents, raising concerns about being left behind in the global AI technology competition. Neighboring Japan, which was considered an 'AI backwater' just a few years ago, is now strengthening its AI competitiveness through active talent development and attraction policies.
According to a survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on the 2nd, South Korea had a net outflow of AI talent of -0.30 per 10,000 people in 2023. For every 100,000 people, about 3 individuals have left for overseas. In the same period, Japan recorded a net inflow of +0.54, amounting to approximately 5.4 individuals for every 100,000.
This survey analyzed the inflow and outflow of AI talents between countries using LinkedIn data, conducted by the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), which was proposed by the G7 and launched in 2020 as a global multilateral forum focusing on AI.
In the first survey conducted in 2019, South Korea was classified as a country of outflow with a net outflow of -0.49 individuals, but it transitioned to a country of net inflow from 2020 to 2022. However, the scale of inflow was minimal compared to other major OECD countries. Domestic tech corporations, such as Naver and Kakao, which urgently need to secure AI expertise, are inevitably finding it increasingly difficult to attract top talent.
Like South Korea in 2019, Japan was also classified as a country of outflow for AI talent but transitioned to a country of inflow in 2020 (+0.69) and has consistently maintained its status as an inflow country since then.
The Japanese government has made the cultivation of AI talents a central agenda in its national strategy. In the AI strategy announced in 2022, it presented major tasks such as disaster response systems, addressing low birth rates and aging issues, and enhancing industrial competitiveness, setting a goal of solving social problems through the use of AI.
In particular, it has established policies to actively attract overseas talents as well as to cultivate AI talents domestically. The Japanese government is easing visa requirements through the 'highly skilled foreign professionals visa,' providing research infrastructure and living support benefits, and assisting foreign talents in settling down.
Since April of last year, Japan has introduced the 'Future Creative Talent System (J-Find)', allowing graduates from world-renowned universities to stay for up to 2 years to engage in job searching or prepare for startups. Additionally, the startup visa and global research collaboration programs are creating an environment where AI entrepreneurs and researchers can operate in Japan.
According to the Japanese Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Agency, a total of 6,335 residence permits were issued last year for 'business manager' status, which allows individuals to manage or operate corporations in Japan, effectively doubling the number of foreigners who can start businesses in Japan within a year.
A notable example is SakanaAI, an AI startup established in Tokyo, which achieved a valuation of $1 billion (approximately 1.4668 trillion won) within just one year, growing into a unicorn company. SakanaAI was founded by two foreign founders from Google headquarters, who developed the 'Transformer' model that underpins generative AI and authored key papers in the field. OpenAI, a leader in generative AI, also opened its third overseas office and first in Asia this month in Tokyo, Japan, following its locations in London, United Kingdom, and Dublin, Ireland last April.
Recently, the global competition for attracting AI talents has become more intense. While the United States is drawing AI talents from around the world through its specialty visa (H1B) program, expectations remain that the Trump administration will maintain its strict immigration policies.
The Software Policy Research Institute noted in a report published last month, 'To avoid being left behind in the global AI competition, South Korea urgently needs innovative visa systems and policy support for talent attraction, similar to Japan and Singapore,' adding that 'particularly, the existing visa issuance requirements focused on academic background and work experience must shift to an evaluation system centered on AI expertise.'