South Korea’s population of people in their 20s and 30s who are neither working nor actively seeking employment averaged 680,000 per month this year, while 48.6% of college graduates who remain unemployed have been jobless for more than a year. The Federation of Korean Industries said the labor market’s dual structure is a core driver of the youth employment crisis. At establishments with 300 or more employees, average monthly wages were 5.738 million won, compared with 3.667 million won at smaller workplaces, a 56% gap. The employment rate for people aged 15–29 has fallen year-over-year for 27 consecutive months since May 2024. South Korea’s National Data Agency reported that 79.8% of net wage-earning job growth in the first quarter of 2026 went to workers aged 60 and above, while employment among those under 30 declined by 76,000. Against this backdrop, SK Telecom and Seoul National University are launching a 15-week AI program, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are advancing high-bandwidth memory technology, and Nebius is expanding recruitment and industry activity in South Korea.