Jobseekers look to take part in on-site interviews to land jobs in the financial sector at a job fair in Seoul on Aug. 24, 2022. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — With the passing of a hiring freeze brought on by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea’s major companies have resumed open recruiting in full swing this year, with their welcome gifts for new employees drawing significant attention.
CJ ENM’s commerce division prepared Apple Watch models as welcome gifts for this year’s new employees, while sending a flower basket and a bowl set to their families.
For SK hynix Inc., which recently hired new employees, welcome gifts included a flower basket, a letter written by vice chairman and co-CEO Park Jung-ho and Co-CEO Kwak Noh-jung, a fuel gift card worth 300,000 won (US$222), and a bottle of red wine.
Lotte Department Store Co. prepared office supplies such as diaries, wireless chargers, tumblers and note & pen sets for new employees.
Aekyung Industrial Co. gave new employees a gift set consisting of its own products, including shampoo, body wash, and toothpaste.
After being passive in hiring during pandemic period, large companies are now paying more attention to new employee welcome gifts as one of their welfare benefits, as they resumed recruitment.
The number of employed people stood at 28.41 million last month, up 677,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It was the largest on-year growth for any October since 1999.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
