[DigitalToday reporter Jin-ho Lee (이진호)] South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT, the National Information Society Agency (NIA) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released a digital transition report that sets out directions for talent development and skills upgrading in the AI era.

The ministry, NIA and the OECD on July 8 jointly held a publication event for the "Digital Transformation and Society (DTS)" report on the sidelines of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, Switzerland.

The event was arranged to share with the international community key outcomes of the Korea-OECD Digital Society Initiative (DSI), which South Korea has led and has set up and operated under the OECD Digital Policy Committee (DPC).

The ministry launched the DSI in May 2024. It built an international cooperation platform to analyse the impact of AI and digital technologies on society and discuss directions for policy responses. The DSI has established itself as the OECD's flagship policy discussion body, sharing member countries' policy cases with a focus on inclusion, safety and trust.

The DTS report published this time is a key output of the DSI. It consists of Part 1, which analyses major trends in digital transition, and a Spotlight series that takes an in-depth look at policy issues by sector. The event officially unveiled "Rethinking skills in the AI age."

The report said AI is being used not simply to replace jobs but to change how work is done and raise productivity. It presented basic literacy and numeracy, AI and digital capabilities, critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving skills as core competencies for the AI era. It also stressed the importance of policies to raise AI use capabilities across the broader public, alongside training AI specialists.

The ministry and NIA will continue to work with the OECD to push ahead with follow-up reports to the DTS report. They also plan to pursue new policy research in AI and produce reports as the DSI's next project.