129 State-run Companies to Freeze Hiring This Year

A large number of state-owned companies are expected to freeze employment this year like they did last year because of staff reductions under a plan to streamline the public sector that began in 2008.

The government, however, will provide jobs for college graduates by allowing state-run companies with good business performance to increase the number of regular employees.

The Strategy and Finance Ministry and public companies yesterday said the public sector advancement policy has reduced the number of regular staff 22,000 (12.7 percent) at 129 state-run companies. This has forced the companies to cut hiring since last year.

Korea Coal Corp. and Korea Airport Corp. will not hire new staff for the third consecutive year this year. Korea Minting and Security Printing Corp. will also freeze hiring like it did last year.

Korea Electric Power Corp. is also expected not to hire new staff because its number of employees is larger than that of regular staff despite the implementation of early retirement over the past two years.

A source at a power-related corporation said, “The hiring freeze began when the government started to reduce the number of public servants,” adding, “To reduce the fixed number of employees, public companies cannot afford to hire more workers.

Certain public companies that have shown good business performance will hire new staff, however. Korea Gas Corp., Industrial Bank of Korea, Korea District Heating Corp., and Incheon International Airport Corp. received management autonomy from the government in December last year, and will substantially increase hiring this year.

The gas company, which did not hire new workers last year, recruited 98 this year. The bank will also hire 400 new employees, 200 in each half of the year, more than double last year’s figure (198).

The heating corporation will hire 46 to 74 new staff in the second half, and the airport company, which froze hiring for the past two years, will recruit 20 new employees in the first half of this year.

The Korea Racing Association, Korea Railroad Corp., Korea Water Resources Corp., Korea Resources Corp. and Korea Development Bank have or will hire new employees this year, but fewer than previous years.

Strategy and Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun told The Dong-A Ilbo in an exclusive interview last month, “The results of business performance assessments of public companies will come out in June, and those with good results will receive incentives for hiring.”

lovesong@donga.com