Issue AI and robots running industry and national systems in a shrinking-workforce Korea

Summary

AI and robotics are spreading beyond manufacturing and services into defence, welfare, finance and security, triggering a wholesale transformation of how industries and the state operate. Korea is described as the OECD country whose labour force is shrinking fastest, which structurally pushes AI and robot adoption in labour-dependent fields such as manufacturing, care, policing and defence. Advances in generative AI, autonomous control and multimodal perception are accelerating automation in factories, logistics and services. Manufacturing's large share of Korean GDP and its heavy reliance on automation, the replacement of call-centre work by AI agents and the spread of unstaffed shops illustrate the shift. Super-ageing, rising risks and exploding data volumes are also making AI-based prediction and response systems necessary in defence, finance, welfare and security.