According to an analysis released by the Ministry of Science and ICT, Korea ranks 10th worldwide in quantum computing and 12th in quantum communications and sensing in terms of core research personnel.
On the 30th, the Ministry of Science and ICT held the 22nd Special Committee on Future Talent and said it reviewed and approved an analysis titled "Global talent map for national strategic technologies." This is the first product to comprehensively analyze the distribution of core talent by country and trends in research collaboration based on related paper data.
The analysis found that the global quantum research ecosystem is led by the United States and China. The two countries have the most researchers in all quantum priority technology fields and account for more than half of core researchers in the top 10% by citation count. The share of top 1% researchers was even higher.
By country, the United States has core talent concentrated in industry, including Google and IBM, while many in China and Europe are concentrated in research institutes. In Korea, the researcher composition is notably centered on academia.
An analysis of cross-border researcher movement over the past 10 years found that the United States and China are net inflow countries with steady inflows of research personnel across all quantum fields. Korea was also classified as a net inflow country, with net inflows of 21 in quantum computing, 10 in quantum communications, and 16 in quantum sensing. The main source countries are the United States, Singapore, and China. Korea also saw a decrease in intra-institutional collaboration but an increase in inter-institutional domestic collaboration and international joint research.
At the meeting, results of an analysis of talent demand in artificial intelligence (AI) were also discussed. According to the analysis, AI-related job postings were around 500 per year in 2017–2018, but surged after the emergence of ChatGPT in late 2022, surpassing 2,000 as of Aug. 2024.
By role, AI application and development accounted for 42.9% of the total. Large and mid-sized companies mainly sought personnel for data design and analysis and AI strategy and planning, while small companies primarily sought talent for developing AI specialized models.
Preference for experienced hires rose sharply from 54% in 2020 to 80.6% in 2024. The No. 1 required skill throughout the entire period was "Python."
The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to actively reflect these analysis results in projects, budget allocations, and policy making related to national strategic technologies. The results will be disclosed so the private sector can also refer to them in establishing research and development and talent acquisition strategies.
Park In-gyu, head of the Office of Science, Technology and Innovation at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "The government will continue to expand the global core researcher database across all national strategic technologies to effectively build research and development (R&D) networks and lay a foundation for cooperation," adding, "Based on accurate analysis of talent data collected from the field, we will establish science and technology policies that the public can clearly feel."