Young workers disappear from Korea’s top 100 companies
Job seekers fill out application forms at an employment support center in Seoul, May 14. Newsis
For the first three months of her job search, a 24-year-old college graduate surnamed Lee faced constant rejection. Then, for the next four months, there wasn’t even a chance to be rejected — job postings had vanished altogether.
"The failures keep piling up. I keep asking myself, what's the problem? Lack of certificates? Experience? My resume? Or all of the above?" Lee told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity, out of concern that it might impact her prospects.
Over the past seven months, she has tried to land a position at one of Korea's top conglomerates. But as time goes on, it feels like a distant dream. "I knew the job market was tough these days, but I didn’t realize it was this bad," she said.
Lee's struggle reflects a deeper structural issue. In just two years, the proportion of employees in their 20s at major Korean corporations dropped from 25 percent in 2022 to 21 percent in 2024.
According to corporate data tracker CEO Score, which analyzed age demographics at 67 of Korea's top 100 companies by revenue — those that disclosed 2025 sustainability reports — more than half saw a decline in the number of workers in their 20s.
The number of employees in their 20s fell from 291,235 in 2022 to 264,091 in 2023, and then further to 243,737 in 2024. In contrast, the number of employees in their 30s rose steadily from 880,747 in 2022 to 900,829 in 2023, and then to 915,979 in 2024.
The decline is especially stark at companies widely regarded as dream workplaces for young job seekers. At Samsung Electronics, the share of employees in their 20s dropped from 30.8 percent in 2022 to 24.2 percent in 2024. SK hynix saw an even sharper fall, from 29.6 percent to 20.8 percent over the same period.
This shrinking space for young professionals highlights a growing mismatch in the job market.
While small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are generally more accessible, they are often perceived to offer lower pay and fewer benefits relative to the demanding workloads. As a result, many young graduates continue to aim for positions at major conglomerates.
Yet, many top companies are scaling back hiring amid worsening economic conditions. Cho Won-man, CEO of CEO Score, noted that companies now show a strong preference for experienced hires, with some discontinuing open recruitment for new graduates altogether.
Experts anticipate that this trend will only accelerate as the workforce continues to age. Already, the number of young part-time workers clocking fewer than 36 hours a week has grown, reaching 1.28 million in 2024. The number of unemployed individuals not actively seeking jobs also climbed to 500,000 as of this February.
"Companies could establish wage adjustment programs for seniors nearing retirement through labor-management agreements. The saved funds could then be used to hire more new employees," said Seo Ji-yong, a business professor at Sangmyung University. "It would be also helpful to provide tax incentives or policy support to large corporations that significantly increase their new hiring."
According to the Bank of Korea, this trend of long-term unemployment raises the risk that more young people will eventually give up on job searching altogether — a shift that could have far-reaching implications for the broader economy.
"Schools, businesses and the government should work together to offer young people meaningful opportunities to gain hands-on experience through a variety of education and training programs," the central bank noted in its February report.
It is equally important, the report emphasized, to "address the dual structure of the labor market and create an environment where young people can begin their careers not only in large corporations and permanent positions but also in more accessible SMEs."