South Korea to launch AI employment shock dashboard and wage‑insurance plan

Prime Minister Han Seong‑sook chaired a national policy coordination meeting in Seoul and announced the government’s “Korean‑style Canary dashboard,” a real‑time system to detect employment shocks from artificial‑intelligence (AI) and digital transformation. The dashboard, modeled on Stanford’s AI impact tool, will incorporate a Korean AI Exposure Index (K‑AIOE) and is slated for release in the second half of 2027 or early 2028, allowing the public to monitor labor‑market changes.

Alongside the dashboard, the administration is discussing a “wage‑insurance” scheme that would compensate workers whose wages fall during industrial transitions, including AI adoption and carbon‑neutral shifts. The proposal envisions an income‑based insurance pilot beginning in 2027, later expanding to platform workers and other non‑traditional labour arrangements. The plan also includes “just‑transition special zones” for high‑carbon sectors such as coal power, automotive, petrochemicals, steel and cement, targeting regions like Pohang, Chungnam, Ulsan and Yeosu for targeted support, training and new‑industry development. Additional measures aim to create 90,000 social‑enterprise jobs by 2030 and provide AI‑related training to over one million citizens.