An AI Research Scientist from a global top-tier financial firm has accepted a job offer from a Korean fintech company. (2 months from search to offer)

"Would any AI engineer in the US accept an offer from a Korean company?"

This is what I heard when I was asked to handle this recruitment. I had the same doubt myself.

But as it turned out, they do exist.

This is a true story

Recently, commissioned by a Korean fintech company active in the global market, we recruited an AI Research Scientist. The target was US-based PhD-level AI/ML talent. It took 2 months from the start of the search to the acceptance of the offer.

The candidate who accepted the offer previously worked at a well-known global financial firm on Wall Street, USA. The candidate who accepted the offer was a PhD-level talent with 7 years of experience and multiple publications in major academic conferences.

Why did they make the move?

You might find this surprising. But when you actually make contact, there are surprisingly many AI engineers in the US who have this specific need.

"I want to live somewhere other than the US."

This was the key driver. For talent with this need, Korea is already an attractive option. Infrastructure, safety, food, and cultural content. When you add one more thing to that, the decision becomes much faster.

Increase in Real Income

It never matches the salary of top US tech companies. However, if they reside outside the US, their real purchasing power increases significantly just due to the gap in the cost of living. From the perspective of recruiting global AI talent, Korea's salary competitiveness is not as weak as you might think.

Looking at the numbers: A salary of $200K in New York → after taxes and living expenses, the actual take-home pay is not as much as you think. If they lower their costs by working in Seoul or remotely, there are cases where their real income increases even if they accept a lower salary than they currently have.

One decisive variable that increases the success rate of recruiting global AI talent

There is a condition that the client chose for this recruitment.

Remote Hiring Strategy — Allowing Remote Work

When the work location was not fixed to Korea but kept flexible, the pool of candidates willing to apply expanded remarkably. The room for salary negotiation also grew. If you are looking for US AI Research Scientist-level talent, the remote option is not a choice, but a strategy.

If you are currently thinking about hiring US AI engineers

I recommend throwing away these assumptions first.

• "Top US talent won't come to a Korean company."

• "We can never win on salary."

• "Global recruitment takes too much time."

In reality, it's different. There is always talent with a reason to move, and designing that reason is the AI talent recruitment strategy.

If you are considering recruiting an AI Research Scientist, feel free to reach out. I can share the actual process and how we design the conditions in more detail.

hjjo@linkmeout.com | www.linkmeout.com

Heejeong Jo, LinkMeOut Korea | Specializing in Korean & Global AI · Data · Infra Talent Acquisition