Seoul: South Korea's four major conglomerates employed nearly 750,000 workers in the country last year, as Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group led expansions in their workforce, industry data showed Friday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the four groups -- Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK, and LG -- hired a combined 746,436 employees domestically in 2024, which marked a 6.9 percent increase from 698,526 in 2020. The figures, reported to the Korea Fair Trade Commission, were cited by the corporate tracker CXO Institute. Notably, the tally did not include the groups' employees working overseas.
Samsung Group saw its workforce increase by 8.6 percent to reach 284,761 in 2024, up from 262,126 in 2020. Hyundai Motor Group's workforce also grew significantly, rising 22.2 percent to 203,915 from 166,925 over the same period. Samsung's steady hiring across its key affiliates, such as Samsung Electronics Co., Samsung SDI Co., and Samsung Heavy Industries Co., marked an eighth consecutive year of workforce expansion through 2024, as highlighted by the CXO Institute report.
"In the next two to three years, Samsung Group's domestic workforce is expected to surpass 300,000. However, its employment growth in Korea may lag behind that of its overseas affiliates due to the impact of U.S. import tariffs," stated Oh Il-seon, head of the CXO Institute.
On the other hand, SK Group experienced a workforce decline of 5.7 percent to 108,301 from 114,842, and LG's workforce fell 3.3 percent to 149,459 from 154,633.
On Thursday, the country's major conglomerates, including these four groups, revealed new recruitment plans aligned with government policy. Samsung announced its intention to hire 60,000 new employees over the next five years, with a focus on semiconductors, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence (AI). Hyundai Motor plans to hire 7,200 workers this year as part of its strategy to transform into a global mobility solutions provider. LG aims to recruit 10,000 workers by 2027 to secure new growth drivers, while SK intends to hire an additional 4,000 workers by year-end, focusing on professionals in AI and digital transformation.