Lotte launches its first AI hiring contest: build an agent for one of seven affiliates, with OpenAI judging
Lotte Group announced on October 27, 2026 its first group-wide AI competition tied to hiring: the AX Challenge 2026. Entrants pick one of seven real tasks from Lotte affiliates, with preliminary applications open October 28 to November 4, a final in Osan on November 24-25, and seven winners sharing 20 million won plus a path to an internship.
- Who: Lotte Group, the South Korean conglomerate, running its first group-level AI competition linked to recruitment.
- What: the Lotte AX Challenge 2026, announced on October 27, 2026, in which entrants plan and develop AI agents for real affiliate business tasks.
- Who takes part: seven affiliates — Lotte Wellfood, Lotte Chilsung Beverage, Lotte Chemical, Lotte Home Shopping, Lotte Hotel, Lotte Innovate and Korea Fujifilm — each putting forward one task.
- OpenAI's role: providing an AI agent development environment as technical support and participating in judging.
- Dates: preliminary applications run October 28 to November 4, 2026; the final takes place November 24-25, 2026 at the Osan campus of the Lotte Human Resources Development Institute.
- Prizes: seven winners share a total of 20 million won, and winners who apply through Lotte's I'M hiring track gain a conversion-to-hire internship benefit.
The contest#
Lotte Group has announced its first AI competition at group level tied to hiring: the Lotte AX Challenge 2026. The company said on October 27, 2026 that the contest aims to find people who can apply AI technology to real work, as it pushes its AI transformation — "AX" — across its businesses.
Seven affiliates are taking part, each putting forward one pending task: Lotte Wellfood, Lotte Chilsung Beverage, Lotte Chemical, Lotte Home Shopping, Lotte Hotel, Lotte Innovate and Korea Fujifilm. Entrants pick one of the seven tasks and submit a proposal and portfolio outlining their solution.
OpenAI is on the judging panel#
OpenAI is providing technical support for the competition, supplying an environment for developing AI agents, and will also participate in judging. That puts the maker of ChatGPT inside a hiring funnel for one of South Korea's largest conglomerates — a sign of how central agent-building skills have become to corporate recruiting.
There are no limits on education or age. Anyone who can plan and develop AI agents can apply, a deliberately wide net for a contest that doubles as a talent search.
How it works#
Preliminary applications run from October 28 to November 4, 2026. The final takes place over two days, November 24-25, at the Osan campus of the Lotte Human Resources Development Institute, where finalists will develop working AI agents based on the proposals they submitted.
Judging rests on three criteria: the suitability of the proposed solution, the completeness of the AI agent, and the entrant's command of AI technology. Seven winners will share a total of 20 million won in prize money, and winners who apply through Lotte Group's practice-oriented hiring track, known as the "I'M" track, will also receive the benefit of an internship that can convert to full-time employment.
Why a conglomerate is hiring this way#
A Lotte official said the contest reflects a shift in how large employers scout AI talent: "As AI technology becomes a core competitive advantage, securing AI talent early is growing more important." Rather than screening résumés for agent experience, Lotte is asking candidates to demonstrate it — building an agent against a real task from food, beverages, chemicals, retail, hotels or imaging.
Whether the format finds Lotte its next AI leads will be judged in November, when the finalists build in Osan. For now, the contest itself is the signal: agent-building has moved from a niche engineering skill to a hiring criterion a conglomerate will run a group-wide competition around. Sources: Aju Press, DigitalToday, Seoul Economic Daily and Yonhap Infomax.