"Recruit New Hires Skilled in AI"...Telecom and Platform Companies Revamp Recruitment Systems

SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus Launch New Entry-Level Recruitment
Telecom Sector Highlights AI Literacy Across Non-Development Roles
AI Business Expansion Drives Urgent Demand for Skilled Talent
Naver and Kakao Realign New Hire Recruitment Strategies

As artificial intelligence (AI) transforms the workplace, the telecommunications and platform industries are overhauling their new hire recruitment systems, including approaches for evaluating AI capabilities.

According to the industry as of August 26, SK Telecom will be accepting applications for entry-level positions in customer, infrastructure, technology, staff, and legal divisions until August 30. Experience developing or applying AI is being highlighted as a preferred qualification. Last year, the job postings for customer and infrastructure roles did not specifically mention AI literacy or experience, but this year, AI application and project experience related to Agent Experience (AX) have been included as preferred qualifications, even for non-development positions such as customer, infrastructure, and staff roles.

KT will be holding its entry-level recruitment for university graduates until September 7. The NW Infrastructure Operation division, where new hires will be placed, will manage operational data using automation and AX tools with the aim of improving work efficiency. In the B2B Consulting & Sales division, new employees will be responsible for identifying new customers in the AX market and advancing business opportunities. When recruiting new hires, KT evaluates candidates’ practical AI application skills in the workplace using its own AX competency assessment. The evaluation focuses on whether applicants can solve problems using AI in various job-related situations and assess and validate results generated by AI. LG Uplus is also reviewing its hiring process for September 11–27 and is considering assessing applicants' AI capabilities during recruitment.

This is because securing talent with strong AI application skills has become essential as telecommunications companies expand their AI businesses. SK Telecom is broadening its business domains to include AI data centers, proprietary AI models, and AI agent services. The company is also pursuing an enterprise-wide AX initiative in which each employee develops and utilizes their own AI agent. In July, KT announced its vision to become an 'AX platform company' and is actively expanding its next-generation AI (AX) business. LG Uplus is also stepping up its AI business by building a 200MW-scale AI data center in Paju, which will be the largest in the metropolitan area.

Although Naver and Kakao are slowing the pace of their open recruitment in response to increased AI adoption in day-to-day work, both companies maintain a firm commitment to hiring 'AI-native' talent. A Naver representative explained that, since the Team Naver open recruitment round in March last year, no specific hiring plans have been confirmed yet, but “we are comprehensively revamping our recruitment strategy, including our ideal candidate profile and appropriate evaluation methods, to align with the AI era.”

Kakao, after conducting a company-wide recruitment for all job categories in September last year to hire talent adept at applying AI technology, has since shifted to ongoing recruitment only. An industry official noted, "Kakao does not currently have a new open recruitment plan, but the commitment to hiring AI-native talent will continue."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.