Young job seekers most impacted by rising AI use in the workplace
Published: 05 Dec. 2025, 07:00
![Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this photo of an illustration, taken on Feb. 19, 2024. [REUTERS/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/05/f4d2ed06-80b7-4225-8bf3-1a4e5661b6ac.jpg)
Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this photo of an illustration, taken on Feb. 19, 2024. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
AI's advancing capabilities may be proving to pose real-life threats to the job market, especially for younger jobseekers in the legal, financial and accounting professions searching to land their first jobs after getting their licenses.
A partner at one of Korea’s top four accounting firms put it bluntly: “An AI can finish in one hour what would take three junior accountants eight hours to complete.”
“The time saved using AI can be spent on other projects, and labor costs have dropped significantly,” the partner said.
AI is now performing tasks not just in development but in legal, financial and accounting work — increasingly replacing junior professionals in the process. Large companies introducing AI are also accelerating restructuring efforts through voluntary resignations and other workforce cuts.
Junior professionals edged out by AI
Samil PwC, Korea’s largest accounting firm, introduced a new “digital track” in its regular hiring process this year to recruit entry-level accountants with software development skills. It was the first time the firm included a coding test as part of recruitment. Although applicants with tech skills had been given preference in the past, this was the first year the firm created a dedicated pathway — in part to find talent capable of building AI tools tailored to auditing.
![A coalition of public accountants holds a rally, demanding job security for public accountants, outside the Seoul Government Complex in central Seoul on Dec. 1. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/05/f05de0dd-f5ae-4dfd-9016-6bd8b8c036a5.jpg)
A coalition of public accountants holds a rally, demanding job security for public accountants, outside the Seoul Government Complex in central Seoul on Dec. 1. [NEWS1]
Other major firms like Deloitte Anjin and Samjong KPMG are also adopting AI for audit work.
The legal industry is following suit.
“The demand for new hires is already dropping in the legal field due to AI,” said attorney Cho Jung-hee of law firm D.Code. Other insiders also agree that for lawyers, time is money. “With AI, it takes less time to train junior lawyers, and we can handle more work.”
According to data, the number of new lawyers hired by Korea’s top 10 law firms fell from 296 in 2022 to 227 this year — a decline of about 30 percent over three years. Dongin Law Group, ranked in the top 10, has not hired a single new lawyer for two consecutive years.
Labor attorneys are also seeing a shift. “Work that once required three or four junior employees can now be handled by AI and a single entry-level worker,” said Park So-hyeon, lead attorney at Labor Lawfirm Raum.
![A banner hung up outside Microsoft Korea's office in central Seoul denounces the company for laying off its employees. [YU SUNG-KUK]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/05/4b9198d0-a242-4a97-8b06-517c3240265e.jpg)
A banner hung up outside Microsoft Korea's office in central Seoul denounces the company for laying off its employees. [YU SUNG-KUK]
Large firms accelerate AI-led downsizing
Major manufacturers are joining IT companies in using AI to streamline head counts — to employees' dismay.
“The reward for hard work is job elimination,” read a banner hung in front of Microsoft Korea's office in central Seoul.
According to the Microsoft Korea union, which is part of the Korean Finance & Service Workers’ Union, the company has cut around 15 percent of staff over the past two to three years. “AI has made some development and HR roles obsolete,” a union representative said. “The company has also recommended resignations among [research and development] staff after halting product development to shift investments to data centers.”
SK Telecom offered voluntary resignations in October to employees with more than five years in its AI department. Other large firms like Lotte Members and LG Electronics are also continuing early retirement programs through the end of the year.
![Words reading "Artificial intelligence AI" and miniature toy hands, one of a robot and the other of a person, are pictured in this photo taken on Dec. 14, 2023. [REUTERS/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/05/31797248-3d16-4cf6-9861-65b683af7846.jpg)
Words reading "Artificial intelligence AI" and miniature toy hands, one of a robot and the other of a person, are pictured in this photo taken on Dec. 14, 2023. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
‘Demand for top talent will rise’
Although AI threatens overall employment, demand for experienced professionals may grow, experts say.
“The hiring market for developers was effectively frozen this year due to AI,” said Roh Sang-beom, CEO of online developer community OKKY. “If no new hires are made now, we’ll face a shortage of experienced developers in three years. Still, someone has to check the work done by AI, which means more demand for top-performing experienced workers.”
“Countries that cut developer staff first are now struggling with maintenance issues,” said Jin Hoe-seung, a researcher at the Software Policy and Research Institute. “There’s a quiet trend of rehiring because people have to review the software that AI produced,” he said.
According to a Bank of Korea report released in October, Korea lost 211,000 youth jobs over the past three years. Of those, 208,000 — or 98.6 percent — were in sectors highly exposed to AI. By contrast, the number of jobs held by people in their 50s rose by 209,000 during the same period, with 69.9 percent of those in AI-exposed sectors. The report used a measure called the AI Occupational Exposure index to determine how reliant certain jobs are on AI.
![A mobile phone display shows the icons of AI apps Deepseek, Chatgpt and Gemini in Berlin on Oct. 31. [EPA/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/05/51ff6510-516d-4c2b-bd98-a580fbb23881.jpg)
A mobile phone display shows the icons of AI apps Deepseek, Chatgpt and Gemini in Berlin on Oct. 31. [EPA/YONHAP]
“Younger workers are more likely to perform routine, structured tasks that are easier for AI to replace,” the central bank wrote. “Middle-aged employees often do work that draws on experience or social skills, making them harder to replace.”
Experts say that with AI deeply embedded in daily work, companies need to rethink how jobs are structured. “There’s very little left that only humans can do,” said Lee Mi-ra, a former chief human resources officer at GE Korea and now a visiting professor at Yonsei University’s Graduate School of International Studies.
“AI can handle data analysis. Humans need to focus on deriving the best possible outcomes based on that data,” Lee said. “We need to rethink work flow and retrain workers to innovate by integrating AI into existing roles.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY YU SUNG-KUK, OH HYEON-WOO [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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