Science ministry opens second hiring round for national AI service team

The science ministry said Tuesday it will hire 19 private-sector experts for the National AI Service Innovation Task Force, the second open recruitment round for the unit charged with building AI services for the public.

The task force began full operations on Nov. 2 when Kim Se-woong, a former vice president of AI synergy at Kakao, took over as its head, making this its first hiring round under his leadership. The 19 recruits will work across seven areas, including planning, development, infrastructure and security for national AI services, following an initial round in September.

The second round follows the first open recruitment in September and is intended to speed the unit's development of public-facing services such as public AI agents.

Unlike the outsourced model the government has relied on, the unit is staffed mainly by private developers hired as fixed-term public officials and by civil servants who have completed its "AI Champion" training program. The new hires will be appointed as fixed-term officials at the senior, mid-level and junior grades, with contracts running from their start date through Sept. 30, 2028. The ministry opened the notice period on Monday and will accept applications from Nov. 10 to Nov. 12, with final selections to be announced in December after document screening and interviews.

Details of positions, qualifications and working conditions are posted on the ministry's website and the government job portal.

"To actually solve the inconveniences people face in daily life with AI, developers who understand the field and can build quickly are key," Kim said. "I hope many capable people will apply so that we can combine the speed of the private sector with the accountability of the public sector and build services that are of real help to the public."

The ministry said it will also publish frequently asked questions about the recruitment on its official blog and in private-sector communities.