Hoban Group Opens Triple-Digit Graduate Hiring With First AI Interview

* Editor's note: AI PRISM (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an artificial intelligence-based personalized news recommendation and summary service developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six news items tailored to each reader type.

1. Hoban Group Launches Triple-Digit Graduate Recruitment

Key summary: Hoban Group has opened recruitment for a triple-digit number of entry-level employees for 2027 across major affiliates in construction, manufacturing, distribution and leisure. The fields on offer are wide-ranging: housing development, construction and open innovation at Hoban Construction; production, engineering, sales and R&D at Taihan Cable & Solution; management support and service at Hoban Hotels & Resorts and Hoban Golf; marketing at Hoban Property; and sales at Daea Chunggwa. Applications will be accepted on the recruitment website from the 24th through Oct. 11, followed by document screening, an aptitude test and interviews, with employment scheduled to begin in January 2027. The group also runs separate tailored tracks, including group talent, global talent and junior professional programs, and what sets this round apart from past practice is the newly introduced "AI Open Interview," which focuses on verifying logical problem-solving ability.

2. Youth Earning 2.74 Million Won a Month, and 18-Year-Olds, Now Eligible for Rent Support

Key summary: Under a housing stability plan announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the income ceiling for youth monthly rent support has been eased sharply from 60% of median income (1.54 million won) to 100% (2.74 million won). The eligible age was lowered to 18 from 19, and eligibility can be extended to as late as age 37 depending on the length of military service. For young people at or below the near-poverty threshold, the support period has doubled to 48 months from 24 months, and the government estimates 240,000 beneficiaries next year. Shin Bo-yeon, a professor at Sejong University, cautioned that unless the measures are accompanied by an expansion in supply, cash support could be passed through into higher rents.

3. Despite Chip Boom, Employment Effect Is One-Fifth of the All-Industry Average

Key summary: An analysis of the Bank of Korea's 2024 input-output tables showed the semiconductor job-creation coefficient plunged to 1.54 in 2024 from 2.36 in 2023. That is five times lower than the all-industry average of 7.8 and three times lower than the manufactured goods average of 4.7. Over the same period, the value-added ratio for semiconductors jumped 11.8 percentage points to 50.3% from 38.5%, showing that profit expansion is running far ahead of hiring. Exports from the 1st to the 20th of September surged 259.4% from a year earlier, accounting for 47.8% of total exports. Analysts say job seekers weighing a career path in semiconductors should look at multiple routes across related industries rather than direct employment alone.

4. [Exclusive] From 256 GPUs to Two: AI Model Research With Proven Results Faces Shutdown

Key summary: A KAIST research team developed the bio AI model "K-Fold" using 256 B200 GPUs with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT, but once the project period ended only two GPUs remained, making retraining and performance upgrades all but impossible. Domestic universities and research institutes can access GPUs in the dozens or hundreds only if they are selected for government programs, creating a recurring pattern in which follow-up research stops when a project ends. KAIST has begun building its own AI data center, and Sungkyunkwan University plans to invest 3.5 billion to 4 billion won to add GPUs, but the assessment is that this falls short of meeting large-scale research demand. Observers say job seekers considering AI research posts or graduate study should carefully check an institution's research infrastructure and the continuity of its projects.

5. Hanwha Aerospace Signs Agreements With 43 Drone Firms, Linking Mass Production to Exports

Key summary: Hanwha Aerospace signed memorandums of understanding with 43 domestic unmanned aerial vehicle and drone companies, accelerating efforts to build an industrial ecosystem spanning development, production and exports. In large UAVs, it is jointly developing the short-takeoff-and-landing "Mojave STOL" with GA-ASI of the U.S., and plans to raise the share of domestic production above 70% at the mass-production stage. Since the war in Ukraine, demand for drones and UAVs has surged, reshaping the industry into one in which global defense companies secure technology through joint development and joint ventures with specialist firms. As the defense and drone ecosystem expands, demand for personnel is expected to grow across systems integration, parts and materials, and mission equipment, at both large corporations and smaller firms.

6. HD Hyundai Completes Industrial Robot Lineup, Targets AI-Driven Autonomous Factories

Key summary: HD Hyundai Robotics will launch the HDT1000-33, an ultra-large industrial robot with a payload capacity of up to one ton, in January next year, expanding its product range 69% to 54 models next year from 32 in 2024. It is taking on the ultra-large segment long dominated by global leaders such as Germany's KUKA and Japan's FANUC, while in July it unveiled three collaborative robots for the first time in six years, filling a gap in its lineup. Aiming to move beyond simple hardware sales toward an AI-based manufacturing platform, it invested 13 billion won in Aidin Robotics, a maker of force and tactile sensors, and is also validating a humanoid prototype. Rising investment toward smart factories and autonomous plants is expected to gradually increase demand for personnel in robot engineering, AI integration and systems integration.