As securing advanced artificial intelligence (AI) talent emerges as a key variable in national competitiveness, an assessment said Korea needs structural improvements in compensation systems and the overall research environment to stop the net outflow and shift to a net inflow.
According to an analysis report on major countries' AI talent training and attraction policies released on the 16th by the Software Policy and Research Institute's monthly webzine Software-Centric Society, Korea's overall attractiveness for recruiting advanced talent remained in the 30th–40th range worldwide in the 2020s.
In the AI Index by Stanford Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), Korea's AI talent mobility index worsened from -0.30 in 2023 to -0.36 in 2024, indicating a larger net outflow. The report noted that while Korea has focused on university-centered talent development, the size of its master's and doctoral pool is smaller than that of leading countries, and it is relatively weak in attracting, bringing back and utilizing overseas talent, as well as in international joint research.
It also viewed institutional incentives as insufficient to encourage the return of Korean experts active at overseas institutions.
By contrast, the United Kingdom maintained its net inflow status even after Brexit through a multilayered visa system including the Global Talent visa, HPI visa and Scale-up visa, while Japan was presented as a case of shifting from a net outflow to a net inflow through the Specified Highly Skilled Professional system (J-Skip) and the expansion of international exchange programs.
The report proposed bold compensation for master's and doctoral-level talent, the creation of innovative research clusters, improved settlement conditions for foreign talent, and the expansion of global talent networks based on remote collaboration as solutions for Korea.