Top 10 Domestic Groups Slightly Increase New Recruits This Year

Large corporations in Korea are expected to slightly increase the number of new recruits this year compared to last year. Incruit (www.incruit.com), a portal employment website, said on September 6 that the 10 domestic companies with the largest assets (except state-owned firms and privatized state-owned firms) are planning to hire 22, 850 employees this year, up 3.5 percent from 22,074 of last year.

They will hire 11,900 workers in the second half of this year, up 8.7 percent from 10,950 in the first half of the year. Samsung Group has recruited 3,300 workers in the first half of this year and is planning to employ an additional 5,000 workers in the second half - a total of 8,300 for this year, up 2.7 percent from the 8,080 of last year.

Samsung Group is taking applications through its employment website (dreamsamsung.co.kr) and will close on September 12.

Hyundai & Kia Motors has not yet confirmed their employment plans but are expected to hire 600-800 new workers.

LG Group will also increase the number of new recruits by 100 from 6,100 last year to 6,200 this year.

SK Group is expected to make the biggest increase in the number of new staff by 13.3 percent, from 1,500 last year to 1,700 this year. The company hired 600 new workers in the first half and is planning to hire 1,100 more in the second half (600 new recruits and 500 experienced workers).

Doosan Group will open 400 positions in its nine affiliated companies including Doosan Infracore and Doosan Industrial Development in the second half of this year. It will take applications until September 11. Doosan Group has introduced a 100-question Chinese character test starting this year. The minimum TOEIC score required is 500.

Lotte Group, Hanhwa Group, and Kumho Asiana Group are expected to hire as many workers this year as last year. Dongbu Group will increase new recruits by 100 to 900 this year. Hanjin Group will also increase by 8.9 percent to 1,900.

The head of Incruit, Lee Kwang-seok, said, “The top 10 groups have increased new recruiting for a couple of years. That’s probably because they want to expand investment and secure talented workers in anticipation of an economic recovery.”

Incruit explained, “The top 10 groups were determined on the basis of the size of assets announced by Fair Trade Commission this year. State-owned enterprises, privatized state-owned companies, and GS Group, which spun off from LG Group in the first half of this year, were ruled out even though they rank within the top 10”.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com