Lotte will hold, for the first time at group level, an AI competition linked to hiring. Lotte said on Oct. 27 it will host the "AX Challenge 2026" and begin accepting preliminary round applications from Oct. 28. The aim is to secure talent that can apply AI technology to real work. It plans to discover through the competition people who will lead AX, the introduction of AI across work.

Seven companies will take part: Lotte Wellfood, Lotte Chilsung Beverage, Lotte Chemical, Lotte Home Shopping, Lotte Hotel, Lotte Innovate and Korea Fujifilm. Each affiliate has put forward one pending task. OpenAI will provide technical support by offering an AI agent development environment and will also participate in judging, the company said.

There are no limits on education or age. Anyone who can plan and develop AI agents can apply. Preliminary applications run from Oct. 28 to Nov. 4. Participants must choose 1 of the 7 tasks and submit a proposal and portfolio outlining a solution. Details on how to participate and the tasks are available on the competition website.

The finals will be held from Nov. 24 to 25 on a two-day, one-night schedule at the Osan campus of the Lotte Human Resources Development Institute. Participants will develop AI agents based on their preliminary proposals. The three evaluation criteria are the suitability of the proposed solution, the completeness of the AI agent and AI technology utilisation capability. There will be 7 final winners, and total prize money is 20 million won. Winners who apply through Lotte Group's job-focused hiring programme, the "I'M (I'm Mania) track", will also receive the benefit of a conversion-to-hire internship.

A Lotte official said, "As AI technology becomes a core competitive edge, it is becoming even more important to proactively secure AI talent," and added, "We will continue to actively support outstanding AI talent so they can grow into key talent leading Lotte's AX."