‘I don’t want a promotion’: the uneasy irony behind Korea’s corporate hiring boom

“I’ll try to avoid getting promoted this year if I can.”

That was the unexpected answer a mid-level manager at a major conglomerate gave when I congratulated him in advance for his likely promotion. His reasoning, it turned out, was tied to the recent surge in corporate hiring.

Last month, several of Korea’s largest conglomerates — including Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK, LG, POSCO and Hanwha — announced plans to hire thousands of new employees either this year or over the next few years. The decision was widely seen as a response to President Lee Jae-myung’s call for companies to create more jobs for young people. After years of shrinking or even disappearing entry-level recruitment, the revival of large-scale hiring drives has been welcomed by many.

But inside those very companies, some employees are uneasy. In firms where cost-efficiency reigns supreme, expanding headcount often means someone else must go.

One subtle way companies can achieve this balance, insiders say, is through executive promotions. There’s even a cynical nickname for executives in Korea — “temporary employees.” Unlike regular workers, executives sign annual contracts and are not protected under the Labor Standards Act, which guarantees retirement at age 60.

That loophole allows companies to quietly restructure. If several senior managers are promoted to executive positions and then not reappointed after a year, the company can hire roughly the same number of new employees while keeping total payroll stable. As one industry insider put it, “When one manager becomes an executive and leaves a year later, the company can bring in three new recruits.”

That’s why some predict a wave of first-time executive promotions this year, particularly among junior executives — positions such as “managing director” or “division head,” which sound lofty but often come with less pay security and more anxiety. For employees supporting aging parents or paying children’s tuition, it may seem wiser to stay a department head until retirement rather than risk becoming a disposable executive.

Not everyone agrees with this gloomy view. Some argue that it’s unrealistic to expect companies to promote executives en masse simply to offset new hires. Others point to the lingering “line culture” — a quasi-feudal network of patronage in which promotions often reward loyalty to higher-ups. Because top executives prefer to elevate people they trust, large-scale promotions remain difficult.

Starting later this month, several conglomerates will begin announcing executive appointments, starting with affiliate presidents and cascading down through the ranks. Some companies will highlight the record numbers of promotions, but few will mention who’s leaving. Behind every wave of new executives, there may be an equally large wave of quiet exits.

Job creation is something everyone can celebrate. Yet beneath that good news lies an unsettling irony: once considered the “stars of the corporate world,” executives are now viewed by many as expendable. These days, congratulating someone on a promotion feels less like a celebration and more like sympathy. Watching the newly promoted walk away, one can only hope — promotion or not — that things turn out the way they wish.

The writer heads the Startuplab at the Hankook Ilbo, where he covers the IT and startup sectors. This column from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.