Abstract:
The South Korean government will re-allow researchers in the field of artificial intelligence to perform alternative military service obligations at large corporate research institutes from 2027. This system has been closed for 14 years, and its reopening is seen as a measure by the South Korean government to strengthen the domestic AI industry and retain high-end technical talents. However, due to the strict conditions for participation, the current demand from large enterprises is significantly lower than the number of places reserved by the government, and the outside world has therefore raised questions about how many AI talents this policy can actually cover.
According to data provided by South Korea’s Ministry of Science, Technology, Information and Communications, four companies, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Samsung Medical Devices and HD Hyundai Robots, have been recommended to participate in the program. The nine research institutions under these four companies have applied for a total of 81 places. The government has reserved 120 places for large enterprise research institutes in 2027, and the number of applications only reaches about two-thirds of the available places.
South Korea’s alternative military service system allows qualified researchers in science and engineering to fulfill their military service obligations by engaging in scientific research. Qualified master's or doctoral researchers are usually required to undertake research work for a period of 3 years. The system has previously been open to universities, government research institutions and small and medium-sized enterprises, but since 2013, new quotas for large enterprises have been suspended. At that time, the South Korean government's policy focused on using the alternative military service system to help small and medium-sized enterprises attract R&D talents.
The reopening of channels for large enterprise research institutes this time mainly targets key technology fields identified by the Korean government such as artificial intelligence. The government hopes that in this way, qualified young researchers can continue to engage in research and development in advanced laboratories of large companies without having to interrupt their scientific research careers due to traditional military service. It also hopes to reduce the possibility of Korean AI talents flowing overseas.
The South Korean Military Manpower Administration stated in June this year that the system aims to provide more targeted support for research talents in key areas of national development.
According to the currently announced plan, South Korea will provide 240 alternative military service quotas for AI researchers with master's degrees in 2027, of which 120 will be allocated to large corporate research institutes, and the other 120 will be allocated to government-funded research institutions and defense industry research institutions. The 120 quotas obtained by large enterprises will be implemented for three consecutive years, covering 2027 to 2029.
For young AI researchers, this means that they will regain an option that has disappeared since 2013, which is to join the research institutions of large companies such as Samsung and LG and fulfill their military service obligations by continuing to engage in professional research without having to temporarily leave their scientific research positions to receive traditional military training and service.
However, after the system was reopened, the actual applications from large enterprises did not reach the scale reserved by the government. In the first round of applications, the nine recommended research institutions only applied for 81 places, so there are still 39 places that have not been applied for during the recommendation stage.
One of the important reasons for this is the strict qualification requirements that large companies need to meet. According to data submitted by the South Korean Military Manpower Administration, large companies applying to participate in the project must meet at least three conditions at the same time: the company's R&D investment must reach more than 5% of operating income; the company is engaged in a field that cannot directly compete with small and medium-sized enterprises; and it must also have research and development results that can be objectively verified.
Korean industry insiders said that the reason why some applicant companies were not recommended is because they did not meet the above conditions.
The four companies currently recommended do not mean that they have finally obtained 81 places. The South Korean Military Manpower Administration still needs to conduct a final review of the research institutions that apply to participate and determine the specific quotas that each research institution can obtain. Therefore, the final number approved may even be lower than the 81 currently applied for.
In addition to the qualification threshold, the issue that quotas are only allocated for three consecutive years has also attracted attention in the industry. Since AI R&D talent training and recruitment usually require long-term investment, companies are worried about whether an institutional arrangement that only covers 2027 to 2029 can truly form a sustained talent attraction mechanism.
Hwang Jung-ah, a member of South Korea's ruling Democratic Party of Korea, said that the reopening of alternative military service quotas at large corporate research institutes after 14 years will give young researchers the opportunity to regain their military service obligations in South Korea's top scientific research infrastructure. She also believes that the current qualification requirements are too strict and may limit the actual effect of the policy.
Huang Zhengya advocates further expanding the scope of participation, believing that the Korean government can take a more active approach to expand the coverage of this system in the process of competing for AI talents and promoting strategic technology development.
Judging from the policy design of the South Korean government, the restoration of alternative military service quotas for large enterprise AI research institutes actually undertakes two tasks at the same time: on the one hand, it provides a military service path for highly educated science and engineering talents to continue scientific research, and on the other hand, it attempts to retain talents in South Korea's domestic AI industry and strategic technology research and development system.
However, the current application data also shows that there is still a clear gap between policy supply and actual enterprise demand. Of the 120 large enterprise quotas reserved by the government, only 81 were applied for in the first round, and strict enterprise qualification requirements and final approval mechanisms may further reduce the number of quotas actually used. Therefore, whether this system, which has been reopened after 14 years, can truly expand the attractiveness of large Korean companies to AI research talents in the future, will also depend on subsequent qualification adjustments, quota allocation, and actual implementation from 2027 to 2029.
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