Google Korea released the findings on Thursday, drawing on a study by global consultancy Public First titled "Growth and Innovation in Korea Driven by AI." The report also concluded that training-driven productivity gains reach as much as 4.7 million won ($3,404) per worker each year.
Forty percent of surveyed workers said companies now favor applicants who can demonstrate AI skills, and 35 percent named command of AI-based tools as the single most sought-after capability, ahead of adaptability and communication skills.
Workers who advanced from basic prompts to refined ones after training cut their task time threefold, the report found, while 82 percent of respondents expected AI competence to become important or essential to their jobs within five years.
Appetite for learning ran high on both sides of the classroom. Nearly three in four Koreans said they wanted to build AI skills, and more than eight in 10 parents rated safe, effective AI use as at least as important as core subjects such as math and English for their children.
Google also pointed to its own economic footprint, citing Public First estimates that its products generated about 21 trillion won in domestic economic value and supported 130,000 jobs in 2025, of which 13 trillion won came from small and medium-sized enterprises.
AJP Takeaways
• A Google Korea-commissioned study by Public First, released Aug. 27, 2026, found South Korean workers use AI about 1.7 times more skillfully than the global average, with employers increasingly prioritizing AI fluency in hiring.
• Forty percent of surveyed workers said companies favor AI-capable applicants, 35 percent ranked AI-tool proficiency as the top hiring criterion, and training raised annual productivity per worker by up to 4.7 million won.
• Google Korea said it would expand AI training, including its "AI Olim" program and a new certificate course run with South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor, citing 21 trillion won in domestic economic value from its products in 2025.
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