The recruitment doors of large and mid-sized corporations, which are highly preferred by job seekers, are expected to narrow even further. Corporations are worried about management difficulties, but labor unions are demanding the extension of the retirement age and the introduction of a 4.5-day work week, which was pledged by President Lee Jae-myung. If the retirement age is extended or a 4.5-day work week is implemented, the burden on corporations will increase, making it highly likely that they will reduce new hires.
According to the industry on the 17th, Hyundai Motor Company and its labor union will hold a meeting on the 18th to begin negotiations for this year's wage and collective bargaining (wage negotiations). The union has included demands for the extension of the retirement age and the implementation of a 4.5-day work week in its proposals, following the largest wage increase in history.
The labor unions of the three shipbuilding companies in the HD Group (HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, HD Hyundai Samho, and HD Hyundai Mipo), Hanwha Ocean, and Samsung Heavy Industries have raised issues such as extending the retirement age to 65 and abolishing the wage peak system in this year's agenda. The POSCO union is also demanding an extension of the retirement age and the distribution of company stocks this year.
The financial labor union plans to bring up issues such as implementing a 4.5-day work week that reduces Friday working hours by four hours, extending the retirement age, and abolishing the wage peak system. If a 4.5-day work week is implemented, corporations will face increased burdens due to the need to pay holiday bonuses on Friday afternoons, leading to reduced banking hours and greater inconvenience for consumers.
An industry insider noted, "Typically, when a new government is formed, major groups announce large-scale hiring and investment plans, but this year, the significant domestic and external uncertainties and difficulties in major businesses have led to a more passive trend."
Some corporations are reducing new hires. S-Oil, a domestic oil company, faced backlash from applicants after abruptly halting its retail sales job recruitment. POSCO FUTURE M, a battery materials company, has also decided not to hold new graduate recruitment this year. Instead, it plans to selectively hire candidates that match specific job requirements.
Last year, the Korea Labor Institute conducted a survey of personnel managers at 86 large corporations that maintain a public recruitment system, and it was found that 19.8% decided to only maintain it until this year (2024). According to the recruitment platform Saramin, job postings in the first quarter of this year (January to March) decreased by 9.2% compared to the same period last year, with particularly noticeable declines in IT and communications (-13%), construction (-11%), and manufacturing and chemicals (-9%).
The Bank of Korea analyzed that after the legal retirement age was extended to 60 in 2016, benefits became concentrated in large corporations with labor unions, raising the threshold for young people to enter quality jobs. According to a report released by the employment research team of the Bank of Korea in April, it was found that for every additional elderly worker due to the extension of the retirement age, 0.4 to 1.5 young workers were displaced.