Korea's largest human resources development event opens Thursday at COEX Magok in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, bringing together government officials, corporate HR leaders, and technology experts to address how AI is reshaping work, organizations, and talent. The two-day conference, now in its 20th year, arrives as the government prepares to expand AI vocational training and build a regional talent-development system tied to its "five growth hubs and three special zones" growth engine strategy.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Human Resources Development Service of Korea are co-hosting the event under the theme "NEXT HR in an Age of Change." The program examines how people, jobs, and organizations are being reshaped by the AI transition, with 15 lectures across three tracks: human resources development, human resources management, and "Tech in HR."
Keynotes from Go legend and AWS architect
Lee Se-dol, a distinguished professor at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), will open the conference with a keynote titled "AlphaGo, 10 Years Later: Lee Se-dol's Review." Drawing on changes in the Go community since his 2016 matches against AlphaGo, he will discuss how technological advances are reshaping human roles and what kind of talent the AI era demands.
On Friday, Oh Soon-young, a principal solutions architect at Amazon Web Services, will present how generative and agentic AI are changing work processes and organizational growth strategies. Kim Nan-do, professor emeritus at Seoul National University, will outline new directions for human resource management centered on "human-in-the-loop," preserving human judgment and intervention in workflows.
Corporate speakers from KT Corp, SK Chemicals, LG Electronics, LG Energy Solution, Amorepacific, and SK AX will present cases on AI-driven work innovation, job-skill development, talent retention, performance evaluation, and organizational culture. For HR professionals tracking how large employers are applying AI for Human Resources, these sessions offer concrete implementation examples rather than theory.
Hands-on training and policy forums
Beyond lectures, the conference includes hands-on training sessions where corporate HR staff can use generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and NotebookLM to design training curricula and draft job-specific interview questions. An "HRD-AI consultation center" will help small and medium-sized enterprises with their AI transition, while a new technology pavilion will let visitors try industrial robots and virtual- and augmented-reality-based training content.
The Human Resources Development Service of Korea, Korea Polytechnics, and the Korea University of Technology and Education will co-host a forum titled "The Demographic Cliff in the AI Era and the Future of Vocational Education and Training for Youth." The session will address AI's impact on employment, changes in the industrial landscape driven by digital transformation, and the direction of human resources development policy.
Government expands AI training investment
Deputy Minister Kwon Chang-jun of the Ministry of Employment and Labor said, "Amid the great AI transition, the government will greatly expand AI vocational training so that all citizens can acquire the skills they need." He added, "We will link mega special zones with the five growth hubs and three special zones growth engine strategy to build a regional talent-development system that will lead key industries, including AI."
Why this matters for HR professionals
The conference agenda signals where Korean employers are putting resources: AI-driven work innovation, skills development, and retention strategies. HR teams that attend or follow the sessions can benchmark how major companies are restructuring performance evaluation and organizational culture around AI tools. The hands-on training component offers a direct path to building internal capability, and the government's stated expansion of AI vocational training suggests funding and policy support will follow. For HR managers building internal AI literacy, structured programs like an AI Learning Path for HR Managers can complement what these corporate case studies reveal.
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