Samsung to Recruit 5,000 College Graduates in Year’s Second Half

Samsung Group has decided to increase the number of college graduates it recruits in the second half of the year to 5,000.

Samsung’s expansion of the number of recruits comes as the government implements policies to combat the economic recession, and other companies are expected to hire more workers and as a result the total number of recruits in the latter half of the year is expected to increase.

This year, Samsung will increase the number of newly recruited college graduates by 20.3 percent, to 8,060 from last year’s 6,700.

This increase is greater than the one initially announced at the end of May after Samsung chairman Lee Gun-hee met with President Roh Moo-hyun. At that time, the goal was said to be 7,000 recruits for the year. 5,000 of the 8,060 will be recruited in the second half year, excluding the 3,060 that were recruited in the first half.

Among Samsungs affiliates, Samsung Electronics will have by far the most new recruits, at 3,150, followed by Samsung Electro-mechanics (340), Samsung SDI (260), Samsung Heavy Industries (200), Samsung Corporation (150) and Samsung Techwin (140).

Samsung will advertise their latter half-year recruiting at the group level, and will receive applications and administer the Samsung Aptitude Test (SSAT) at the same time. This is the first time since the foreign exchange crisis that Samsung has advertised their recruiting at a group level. Since the foreign exchange crisis, they have been recruiting by affiliate.

Applications are accepted at Samsung Group’s recruiting home page (www.dearsamsung.co.kr). Applicants should consult the home page, and depending which company they wish to apply to, follow the appropriate application steps.

This recruiting requires TOEIC scores of at least 730 for cultural science and social science majors, 620 for science and engineering majors, or English ability equal to such scores. Qualified applicants may take the October SSAT (Samsung Aptitude Test) regardless of their graduate school.

Samsung will recruit more than 50 percent of their new hires from science and engineering majors, and the company will increase its female recruits from last year’s 27 percent to 30 percent. They will also give extra points for those with certified Chinese character proficiency.

Ahn Hong-jin, deputy general director of Samsung’s restructuring headquarters, said, “Chairman Lee believes that as the economy is in a deeper depression, we should recruit more, invest more and prepare for a economic boom,” and also that “by expanding the number of recruits, and in effect job positions, we are fulfilling our social responsibility as a leading company.”

Joong-Hyun Park sanjuck@donga.com