Over 6 in 10 young job seekers fear AI will replace or shrink their target roles

More than six in 10 young Koreans currently looking for work believe their desired job is likely to be replaced or reduced by AI within the next five years, a new survey shows.

About two in three respondents expressed concern that as AI takes over entry-level tasks traditionally handled by new hires, opportunities to grow into skilled workers will shrink. The findings reflect a dual anxiety: while many see AI as a tool to sharpen their professional edge, a growing number fear it will make entering the labor market and building a career harder.

The Korea Federation of Enterprises commissioned polling firm Mono Research to survey 1,000 people aged 19 to 34 — both employed and job-seeking — on youth awareness of job changes amid AI expansion. Some 53.9% of respondents said their current or desired job was likely to be replaced or reduced by AI within five years. The results were released Tuesday.

Anxiety was particularly acute among those still trying to enter the workforce. Among job seekers, 63.8% said their target position was likely to be replaced or reduced by AI — 14.4 percentage points higher than the 49.4% of employed youth who said the same.

Young people working in or seeking jobs in fields with high AI exposure were more likely to view displacement as a real risk. Among those in "high AI-exposure occupations" — including office workers, managers and professionals — 58.4% said their role was likely to be replaced or reduced. That was 12.6 percentage points higher than the 45.8% recorded among those in "low-exposure occupations" such as manual laborers and skilled agricultural and fishery workers.

Similar gaps emerged across industries. In high AI-exposure sectors such as finance, insurance and information technology, 54.5% of respondents expected their roles to be displaced. In low-exposure sectors such as transportation, warehousing and construction, the figure was 43.5%.

Beyond job numbers, young people also worried that AI could disrupt the traditional "career ladder" — the path through which new workers gain experience and develop expertise over time.

Some 65.6% of respondents agreed that AI's takeover of entry-level tasks could reduce opportunities for young workers to grow into skilled professionals. The concern centers on how AI may erode the conventional career-building process, in which new employees start with basic tasks and gradually take on more complex responsibilities.

Concern about widening disparities within the youth cohort ran even higher. Some 67.7% of respondents said differences in AI proficiency could expand income and career gaps among young people, while 53.6% worried they could fall behind in competition due to uneven AI skills.

At the same time, many respondents viewed AI as an asset. Some 64.7% said AI helps improve professional expertise and career competitiveness — a figure that climbed to 74.4% among those in high AI-exposure occupations. Those most exposed to AI were thus simultaneously the most anxious about job displacement and the most optimistic about the productivity gains AI could bring.

When asked what policies would best protect job security in the AI era, respondents most frequently cited expanding new hiring and broadening entry-level work experience. "Stronger support for companies that hire young workers" topped the list at 23.8%, followed closely by "expanding entry-level job experience opportunities" at 23.7%. Strengthening AI skills training for youth came in at 19.8%, while improving working conditions in labor-shortage fields was cited by 15.9%.

Lee Sang-ho, head of the economic affairs division at the Korea Federation of Enterprises, said the current youth hiring support system needs to be updated to better reward companies that provide entry-level work experience and AI skills training. "Internship programs and similar initiatives should also be upgraded to center on project-based work experience that incorporates AI," he said.