SK Group announced SK AIGEN on 12 October, a two-year, full-time programme that will pay each of about 50 selected young adults 3 million won ($2,100) a month, Seoul Economic Daily reported.
Key points
- The stipend totals KRW 72 million per participant over two years.
- Participants will develop their own AI projects before taking on practical assignments.
- Applicants must be aged 19 to 34. The programme awards no degree and guarantees no job.
- Applications run from 1 to 15 November 2026, ahead of a March 2027 start.
SK pays KRW 72 million per participant
The monthly payments amount to KRW 72 million for each participant over the programme, The Asia Business Daily reported. SK will also provide training, project mentoring and workspace. Applicants must be able to participate full time for the entire two years.
SK plans to run AIGEN through mySUNI, its talent development platform, Digital Today reported. Participants will receive the stipend while working on projects that use AI to address problems affecting individuals, businesses and society. SK says the arrangement is intended to give them time and resources to concentrate on that work.
Completing AIGEN will confer neither a degree nor guaranteed employment at a particular company, The Asia Business Daily reported. The publication also reported that participants will have no additional obligations after the programme ends. SK is therefore funding the training without requiring graduates to take a job within the group.
AIGEN moves from projects to field assignments
In the first year, participants will identify problems and plan AI projects, working individually or in teams. SK intends for them to acquire the knowledge and skills needed for each project as they work, rather than complete a set curriculum before applying it.
The second year shifts to assignments in real-world settings, matched to participants’ career paths and project plans. SK plans to connect them with mentors and experts for that work, Digital Today reported. Those assignments follow a year in which participants choose and develop their own problems to solve.
SK will work with Seoul National University’s AI Institute on the programme, Seoul Economic Daily reported. The institute plans to help participants develop humanities-based insights and plan their careers, drawing on disciplines including sociology, economics and public administration.
SK has an earlier talent initiative in the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies. Former chairman Choi Jong-hyun established the foundation in 1974 to support students studying overseas without imposing special conditions. AIGEN likewise places no additional obligations on participants once they have completed the programme.
SK opens AIGEN applications on 1 November
The programme is open to people aged 19 to 34, with no restriction on educational background or field of study. SK says it will assess applicants’ motivation to solve problems and their potential to develop across fields including technology, research, culture and the arts. Candidates must commit to the full-time programme for two years.
Park Sangkyu, president of SK Group’s mySUNI, said SK plans to select participants annually and make AIGEN its flagship talent development programme. The planned annual recruitment would extend the scheme beyond the initial intake of about 50, which SK expects to select by the end of December.
SK will hold an in-person information session at the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies on 28 October. SK will accept applications for the first cohort from 1 to 15 November 2026 and aims to choose its participants by the end of December. SK will start the first cohort on 1 March 2027, Digital Today reported.
