This photo provided by Kakao Corp. shows its Pangyo office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – Kakao Corp. halted its recruitment of experienced workers with South Korea’s IT industry engulfed in a hiring freeze due to the current economic slump.
According to industry sources, the tech giant notified all of the individuals who were preparing for the recruitment process for experienced developers that their applications had been canceled.
Some of the applicants were preparing for interviews after passing the document screening and coding test phases of the hiring process.
Kakao did not disclose detailed information on the type and number of jobs for which it halted recruitment.
Kakao’s decision to implement a hiring freeze can be interpreted as a sign that it can no longer endure the increasing burden of personnel costs after a massive developer hiring spree during the rapid growth of the IT industry brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re taking a conservative stance on hiring due to the increasing uncertainty of the external environment, resulting in a temporary suspension of the recruitment process for some positions,” an official from Kakao said.
“We took the process of explaining the situation and seeking understanding from the applicants concerned. If hiring for the positions concerned resumes in the future, we will notify the candidates about the recruitment process again.”
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
