Last year, the number of new hires at South Korea’s two major platform companies, Naver and Kakao, dropped by more than half compared to the previous year. Both companies saw a significant decrease in new hires for the second consecutive year, leading to a substantial reduction in their workforce.
According to Naver and Kakao, the total number of new hires last year was 683, less than half of the 1,469 hired the previous year. The decline in hiring has continued for two years.
Naver’s new hires decreased from 838 in 2021 to 599 in 2022 and further down to 231 last year. Kakao also saw a sharp decline, with new hires dropping from 994 in 2021 to 870 in 2022 and down to 452 last year, a reduction by half over two years.
Both companies saw a more significant decrease in the hiring of male employees, leading to a higher number of female hires for the first time since 2018, when related data was first disclosed. Last year, the number of male employees hired by the two companies was 253, which was only 58.8% of the number of female hires (430).
Due to the sharp decline in new hires and increased transfers within affiliates, the total number of employees at Naver and Kakao last year was 8,297, a decrease of 567 (6.4%) from the previous year’s 8,864.
Naver’s workforce decreased by 546 (11%) to 4,417, and Kakao’s decreased by 21 (0.5%) to 3,880. Both companies saw a reduction in their workforce for the first time in four years since 2019, with the decrease being six times greater than the reduction in 2019 (92 employees).
The reduction in hiring at both platform giants is primarily attributed to a conservative approach due to worsening external economic conditions. However, the overall reduction in workforce has raised concerns about Naver and Kakao’s growth potential.
In response, both companies explained that the decrease in personnel is also due to significant adjustments within their affiliates. They emphasized their commitment to securing new growth drivers through investments in new businesses, such as artificial intelligence (AI), in addition to their existing businesses like commerce and advertising.
