December 20, 2024 – The Korean Statistical Office released the “Social Trends 2024” report today, shedding light on significant social and economic shifts in Korean society. The report particularly underscores the impact of AI on employment, the rise in obesity rates, and demographic changes.
According to the report, approximately 2.77 million jobs, accounting for 9.8% of the total, are at risk of being replaced by artificial intelligence technologies like ChatGPT. This underscores the growing influence of AI in the workplace, with office workers having a 100% exposure rate to AI.
The Korean Statistical Office notes that approximately 16% of jobs can be aided by GPT, with travel service personnel, writers, and planning and marketing staff being the most affected.
The report emphasizes the vast potential of automation, highlighting that “the proportion of work that can be automated through GPT is very high.” This trend mirrors broader changes in the labor market, where technological advancements are increasingly reshaping job roles and responsibilities.
Demographic shifts are another focal point of the report. Over the past two decades, the proportion of unmarried individuals over 40 years old in Korea has multiplied several times. By 2020, 23.6% of men and 11.9% of women in their 40s were unmarried. Compared to 2000, the unmarried rate among men has increased by 6.7 times, while among women, it has grown by 5.7 times. This shift reflects changing attitudes towards marriage and family life among the younger generation.
