Continuing 'brain drain' undermines Korea’s $73 billion AI ambition, experts warn

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Continuing 'brain drain' undermines Korea’s $73 billion AI ambition, experts warn

Published: 18 Jun. 2025, 15:57 Updated: 19 Jun. 2025, 21:42

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words ″AI Artificial Intelligence ″ in this illustration. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

As Korea stakes its future on becoming a global AI powerhouse, it faces a stark challenge: the country’s brightest minds are heading overseas.

High bandwidth memory (HBM) is a critical component in the AI era's chips race. And at the heart of HBM innovation is Kim Joung-ho, a professor of electrical engineering at KAIST, often dubbed “the father of HBM.”

But rather than staying in Korea, many of Kim’s top students are choosing jobs at Silicon Valley tech giants like Google, Apple, Tesla, Microsoft and Nvidia.

Drawn by competitive salaries, performance-based rewards and an open workplace culture, they are becoming part of a growing trend of elite Korean talent seeking opportunities abroad — a trend that experts say threatens to undermine Korea’s ambitions in AI, semiconductors and beyond.

The growing concern comes as President Lee Jae Myung’s administration prepares to name Ha Jung-woo, head of the Cloud AI Innovation and Future AI Center at Naver, as the nation’s first-ever senior presidential secretary for AI strategy.

The government has also pledged to mobilize a 100 trillion won ($73 billion) public-private fund to fuel AI investments.

But without a clear plan to retain and attract skilled professionals, those efforts risk falling short.

President Lee Jae Myung engages in a dialogue on artificial intelligence with Yuval Noah Harari, author of the bestseller ″Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind″ (2011), at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on March 22. [NEWS1]

A report released Tuesday by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (KCCI) Sustainable Growth Initiative (SGI) reveals that Korea’s human capital flight — the net difference between the inflow and outflow of highly skilled talent — is tilting further into the red.

Between 2019 and 2021, the number of Korean science and engineering professionals working abroad rose from 125,000 to 129,000, while the number of foreign professionals entering Korea fell from 47,000 to 45,000, according to SGI.

The net brain drain widened from 78,000 to 84,000 during that period — and experts believe the figure has grown even larger as the global AI boom accelerated from 2022.

When it comes to AI talent specifically, the outlook is even more troubling.

Korea placed 35th out of 38 OECD countries in net AI talent mobility, with 0.36 more AI professionals leaving the country than entering per 10,000 residents, as ranked by Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Aritifical Intelligence. Luxembourg, Germany, the United States and Canada saw the biggest net gains, in that order.

“The higher the performer, the more likely they are to leave Korea,” SGI warned. “We are seeing a structural shift in which the best minds believe they can only fulfill their potential abroad.”

The economic cost of this trend is significant.

The total cost of public education for a single college graduate in Korea amounts to approximately 214.83 million won over their lifetime.

If that graduate pursues a career overseas, the government loses an estimated 340.67 million won in lifetime tax revenue — a total hit of more than 550 million won per person. The figure doesn’t even account for private education expenses or the added value of graduate-level talent.

People visit the Ascend AI exhibition booth by Huawei during the 2024 The World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) & High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance with the theme ″Governing AI for Good and for All″ at the Shanghai Expo Center Multifunction Hall in Shanghai, China on July 4, 2024. [AP/YONHAP]

To reverse the outflow, SGI points to structural problems in Korea’s labor and research systems. These include short-term performance evaluations, rigid seniority-based pay systems, limited research infrastructure and few international collaboration opportunities.

The report recommends sweeping reforms: a shift to performance-linked pay, more flexible work-hour systems that allow for exceptions to the 52-hour workweek and greater reward for research achievements.

Kim Cheon-gu, a research fellow at KCCI, urged the government to rethink its approach.

“If Korea wants to become one of the world’s top three AI powers, attracting and retaining young innovation talent is critical,” Kim said.

“We must go beyond simply stopping brain drain. We need a brain gain strategy — one that brings talent back and builds a system where knowledge and innovation circulate.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KIM KI-HWAN [[email protected]]