LG Display, a major affiliate of LG Group, has not hired any new university graduates since the second half of 2022 due to ongoing poor performance, driven by weak global demand and competition from Chinese companies offering low-cost products. It has not only stopped hiring but is also reducing its workforce. According to corporate research firm CEO Score, which analyzed National Pension Service data, LG Display had 25,632 employees at the end of 2024, down 2,346 from 2023.
Other industries face similar struggles. The retail sector, hit by weak domestic demand and competition from Chinese e-commerce platforms, is also downsizing. Shinsegae Group’s SSG.com reduced its workforce by 14% year-on-year to 2,476 employees, while SPC Group’s Paris Croissant cut 10% to 5,428 employees.
As South Korea’s key industries slump, the job market is freezing up. The new hiring market is taking a severe blow due to rising exchange rates and increased uncertainty from the newly elected Trump administration’s protectionist policies in the U.S. A recent Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) survey of 239 companies found that 53.7% of firms with 300 or more employees plan to cut hiring this year. Among smaller firms with fewer than 300 employees, 31.1% also intend to reduce recruitment.
The job market feels even harsher as opportunities at large corporations and public institutions, which are preferred by young job seekers for their stable pay and benefits, are shrinking. According to Statistics Korea, the average monthly employment at businesses with 300 or more employees rose by just 59,000 last year, reaching 3.146 million, marking the smallest increase since 2018 (50,000).
By industry, manufacturing employment fell by 6,000, while construction jobs declined by 49,000. Retail and wholesale, which reflect consumer sentiment, lost 20,000 jobs. A corporate insider noted, “Last year’s exports were strong, but much of that came from the semiconductor sector, which creates few jobs,” adding, “Many companies are now planning to reduce hiring.”
As a result, youth employment continues to decline. Last year, the average monthly employment of those aged 15 to 29 fell by 144,000, from 3.9 million to 3.76 million, marking the lowest figure since 2013 (3.73 million). The number of young people who are not economically active, despite not having major illnesses or disabilities, is also rising. In last year’s economically active population survey, 421,000 people reported they were “just resting,” up 21,000 from the previous year. Excluding the pandemic-driven spike in 2020, this is the second-highest figure since records began in 2003.
This year’s job market looks even tougher. With major companies already cutting staff since last year due to various internal and external factors, new hiring is expected to be even more limited.
In late November last year, Lotte Group entered emergency management mode, cutting 22% of its executives as part of sweeping restructuring. SK Group has also been downsizing struggling affiliates, reportedly reducing executives by about 20% in December. POSCO Group, facing a downturn in steel, is shutting down factories and selling non-core businesses. With companies laying off staff, large-scale new hiring seems unlikely.
