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Over half of Korean workers use AI at work: BOK survey

Published: 18 Aug. 2025, 17:27

A ChatGPT logo is seen in this illustration taken on Jan. 22. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

More than half of Korean workers use generative AI at work, with AI estimated to have contributed to around 1 percent of the country's GDP over the past two years, the central bank said Monday.

According to a survey conducted by the Bank of Korea (BOK), 51.8 percent of workers in Korea said they use generative AI at work, while 17.1 percent said they use AI regularly in their jobs.

The proportion of people who use AI at their workplace is almost twice that of the United States, the report showed.

The weekly average time spent using AI was also higher, with Koreans using AI for five to seven hours on average, compared with only 0.5 to two hours for workers in the United States.

Korean men used AI more often than women, while the AI utilization rate was markedly higher among those aged 18 to 29 compared with those aged 50 to 64, and among those with a master's degree compared with those with undergraduate degrees, according to the survey.

By occupation, licensed professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, were the most active users of AI, with their usage rate at 69.2 percent. They were followed by managers with a utilization rate of 65.4 percent and office workers at 63.1 percent.

Generative AI has reduced working hours by an average of 3.8 percent, or 1.5 hours per 40-hour workweek, the report also showed.

The BOK estimated that AI contributed around 1 percentage point to the 3.9 percent growth in the country's gross domestic product from the fourth quarter of 2022 to the second quarter this year.

ChatGPT, a generative AI developed by U.S.-based OpenAI, was launched in November 2022.

However, the BOK noted that AI's contribution to the country's GDP could be lower, as its estimate is based on an assumption that workers used the time saved from AI on other productive activities.

Meanwhile, 48.6 percent of respondents said AI will have a positive impact on society, while 32.3 percent expressed a willingness to take part in a fund for AI investments.

The survey was conducted from May 19 to June 17 on 5,512 employed individuals aged 15 to 64 years old.

Yonhap