Job fair for Japanese firms scrapped amid dispute

People fill out application forms for job interviews at a job fair in Seoul in this June photo. A job fair for Japanese companies, which was planned to be held in the second half of the year, has been canceled amid chilled relations between Korea and Japan following the latter's trade restrictions. / Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

A job fair for Japanese companies has been scrapped amid worsening ties between Seoul and Tokyo, according to the labor ministry, Monday.

The Seoul Career Vision, a job fair hosted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and co-organized by the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, was scheduled to be held on Sept. 24 in Seoul and Sept. 26 in Busan.

It is a fair for young people seeking jobs at foreign companies, and Japanese firms have taken up a large portion in recent years, with last year's events only for Japanese firms.

However, the ministry has decided to cancel the event, citing the strained diplomatic relations following Japan's economic retaliation against the Korean Supreme Court's rulings over compensation for surviving South Korean victims of wartime forced labor.

“At this point, we had better not hold a job fair for Japanese companies,” Vice Labor Minister Im Seo-jeong said in a press briefing at the Government Complex Sejong.

The September event was supposed to focus on recruiting Koreans who hope to work for companies from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as Japan, given that there has been growing demand from Japanese firms wanting to employ promising Koreans.

“The government will further consider whether to push ahead with the job fair for the ASEAN countries only,” he said.

The decision came after the Japanese government announced its decision to remove Korea from its list of countries that enjoy minimum export controls, Friday, spurring further anti-Japan sentiment.

According to KOTRA, the biannual program has helped 3,700 people land jobs all over the world annually since 2007. While the fair usually connects jobseekers with companies from all over the world, last year's edition was focused mainly on Japanese companies amid growing demand from the neighboring country. In this year's first-half fair, 184 companies from 15 countries participated, 115 of whom came from Japan.

According to the labor ministry, 5,783 Koreans found employment overseas, 1,828, or 32 percent of whom were employed by Japanese companies. On the back of the high employment, the government had been promoting the job fair.

Although the government will not hold a job fair for Japanese entities, it is set to continue to support those who are preparing to work for Japanese companies.

In response to the decision, online employment communities are venting frustration about it.

“The government needs to leave room for young adults to find jobs in Japan and elsewhere,” a community member said.

Meanwhile, in response to Japan's export restrictions, Koreans are ditching Japan as a popular holiday destination.

According to Hana Tour, the nation's largest travel agency, the number of Korean tourists to Thailand's Chiang Mai in July increased by 119 percent year-on-year. In addition, China's Hainan, Russia, the Philippines and Taiwan also saw increases in tourists from Korea, according to multiple tour agencies. Even Hong Kong, plagued by a series of protests that were sparked by Chief Executive Carrie Lam's move to introduce amendments to the extradition law, saw an increase.