LG to hire 4,000 more by year’s end

By Kim Yoo-chul

LG Group plans to employ 4,000 more people in the second-part of the year, after adding more than 13,000 new workers through June.

The hiring drive comes at a time when the group faces intensifying competition with Samsung Electronics in mobile devices, consumer electronics and renewable energy.

Companies here have also been pressed by the Lee Myung-bak government to invest and hire more as policymakers grow concerned about rising unemployment and stalling economic activity.

LG, which controls global technology powerhouses LG Electronics, LG Display, LG Chem and LG Innotek, said that 900 of the new jobs will be filled by recruiting college graduates, while the remaining spots will be saved for experts including research and development (R&D) personnel.

``Research staff members will account for 25 percent or 1,000 of the new workers because it’s critical we strengthen our technological edge in our main and new businesses,’’ said LG spokesman Jung Jeong-wook.

At the end of the year, LG’s technology-related units like LG Electronics, LG Display and LG Innotek will have around 13,600 first-year employees, while LG Chem will have more than 2,000. LG Uplus, the group’s telecommunications unit, and other subsidiaries will combine to have 1,300 new recruits.

The jobless rate in Korea was at 3.3 percent in June, however, unemployment between those aged 15 to 29 remained much higher at 7.6 percent, government data showed.

Jung said the group hasn’t so far changed its earlier investment plan of 16.3 trillion won for this year, including a record 4.7 trillion won for R&D.