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| A software developer recruitment ad for Yeogi Eottae at Pangyo Subway near Pangyo Techno Valley. / Courtesy of With Innovation |
Online food delivery and other IT-platform companies here are rushing to hire talented software developers and marketing experts to cope with their expanding businesses.
With the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), self-driving cars, robots and other technologies, the demand for IT manpower has soared over the past few years, forcing employers to offer high wages and handsome benefits.
"#50milwonstartingwage #Mondaystartworkat1pm #3freemealsaday," read one recruitment ad in Pangyo Station for Yeogi Eottae, a hotel booking platform.
The most eye-catching feature is the starting annual wage of over 50 million won ($47,000), about 10 million won more than what large business groups offer university graduates.
"We're planning to expand into the global market by the end of this year," explained Woody Ji, a PR manager at With Innovation, the company that owns Yeogi Eottae. "So we are trying hard to attract more skilled software developers."
IT firms like With Innovation are located in Pangyo Techno Valley, an industrial complex in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, just south of Seoul. Dubbed Korea's Silicon Valley, Pangyo Techno Valley is home to many major IT firms such as Nexon and Kakao.
Competition to attract talented software developer is increasing as smaller IT companies like Woowa Brothers, With Innovation, Yanolja, and Socar prepare for large-scale expansions in 2018.
Woowa Brothers, which runs the biggest food delivery app Baedal Minjok, started guaranteeing software developers a starting wage of over 50 million won a year since last year.
"Currently, there are numerous IT startups that have the capital to aggressively expand their businesses," a Woowa Brothers spokesperson said. "We also need talented new workers to expand into AI and self-driving robot technology."
The company recently announced an open recruitment call for 400 new positions, which would almost double the size of its current workforce. Over 100 of these newly advertised positions are reserved for software developers.
With Innovation, which currently has 240 employees, plans to recruit 100 new software developers in the same period.
One of the most-talked-about working conditions by both Woowa Brothers and With Innovation is the 4.5-day work week, allowing workers to come to work at 1 p.m. on Mondays.
Despite higher salaries and attractive perks, many IT startup workers have to endure long working hours and often come to the office on weekends.
Yeogi Eottae currently scores just 2.3 out of 5 for the work-life balance category, according to Jobplanet, the website most visited by jobseekers looking to see what the working conditions at major companies are like.
"I love the free buffet meals and coming to work late on Mondays but the extreme workload pressures employees to work overtime frequently," a company employee wrote on a bulletin board run by Jobplanet.
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