The Ministry of Science and ICT put forward LG Electronics, HD Hyundai Robotics, Samsung Medison and Samsung Electronics for the 2027 program, reviving a perk shut off to large companies since 2013, the data submitted to Rep. Hwang Jung-a of the ruling Democratic Party showed.
Nine labs under the four companies are seeking a combined 81 researchers.
The tally fills only 67.5 percent of the 120 annual slots the Military Manpower Administration set aside for conglomerate labs in June, leaving 39 seats empty. Some large companies that applied were weeded out before the recommendation stage for failing to meet the criteria.
The program, known as technical research personnel, lets science and engineering graduate students fulfill mandatory military service by working three years at designated research institutes.
Most South Korean men must otherwise serve about 18 months in uniform.
Conglomerates once received about 300 such researchers a year before the government halted new allocations in 2013, amid complaints they drained talent from smaller firms' R&D labs.
The June notice reopened the door for AI alone, carving out 240 master's-level slots a year from 2027 to 2029, split evenly between conglomerates and state-funded and defense research institutes.
Participating companies must spend at least 5 percent of revenue on R&D, work in fields that do not compete directly with small businesses and prove research results with objective evidence. The window runs only three years, and the manpower agency has yet to finalize selections and headcounts.
"Military service exceptions should be opened up more boldly to secure talent and strategic technologies, so that rigid requirements do not limit their effect," Hwang said.
She added that young researchers once again have a path to serve at institutions with the country's best research infrastructure.
The Ministry of National Defense floated plans in 2016 and 2019 to shrink the program, citing a shortage of conscripts. The science ministry countered in 2019 that cutting alternative service would only defer the problem as the population declines, while lawmakers and scientists warned of a brain drain.
AJP Takeaways
- South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT recommended LG Electronics, HD Hyundai Robotics, Samsung Medison and Samsung Electronics to host AI researchers doing alternative military service from 2027, according to data released Sept. 20, 2026.
- The four companies' nine labs requested 81 researchers, filling 67.5 percent of the 120 annual conglomerate slots set by the Military Manpower Administration in June 2026.
- The conglomerate track, halted in 2013, runs only from 2027 to 2029, and the Military Manpower Administration has yet to make final selections.
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