ITIF：2026韩国 STEM 领域人才困境研究报告：优化人才就业适配激励机制（英文版）（16页）.pdf

1、itif.org Koreas STEM Talent Challenge:Fixing Incentives for Deployability ROBERT D.ATKINSON AND SEJIN KIM|JUNE 2026 South Korea produces large numbers of STEM graduates,but too many are attracted to medicine,and too few go into engineering.Korea should rebalance its education financing and universit

2、y incentives to ensure that enough engineers are ready to work in advanced industries.KEY TAKEAWAYS Koreas STEM challenge is not a pipeline shortage but a deployability gap.The countryproduces large numbers of graduates,yet firms still struggle to hire engineers andcomputing specialists who can cont

3、ribute immediately to advanced industrial work.Koreas incentive structure favors medicine over engineering.Protected medicallicensing,stable earnings,and regulated tuition create predictable returns,whereasengineering involves slower wage growth and greater early career uncertainty.Koreas weak engin

4、eering ROI strengthens the case for reform.Compared with the UnitedStates,Korea offers weaker wage premiums,slower early career advancement,and fewerapplied career pathways for engineers.Korea should reform professional tuition policy to rebalance talent investment by allowingdifferentiated tuition

5、in high-return fields such as medicine,with mandatory reinvestmentin engineering and applied science.Graduate education should be redesigned around deployability,not academic throughput.Korea should adapt Olin-style project training and Denmarks Industrial PhD model toconnect STEM training directly

6、to industry needs.INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY&INNOVATION FOUNDATION|JUNE 2026 PAGE 2 CONTENTS Key Takeaways.1 Introduction.2 Koreas STEM Shortage Is a Deployability Problem,Not a Degree Problem.5 Why Medicine and Engineering Produce Divergent Career Choices.6 Policy Framework:Align Incentives Toward Engi