Early Resignations Plague Korean Firms as Most New Hires Leave Within Three Years (Image created by ChatGPT)
SEOUL, May 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly 6 out of 10 South Korean companies report that new employees leave within one to three years of joining, underscoring growing concerns over early attrition in the workforce, according to a new survey released by HR tech firm Incruit.
The study, based on responses from 446 HR professionals, found that 60.9% of new hires resign within 1 to 3 years — the most common timeframe for early departures. An additional 32.9% of employees quit between four months and one year, while 6.3% exit within the first three months.
The top reason cited for early resignation was a mismatch in job roles (58.9%), followed by dissatisfaction with pay (42.5%), incompatible company culture (26.6%), strained relationships with supervisors or coworkers (23.4%), and lack of work-life balance (17.1%).
More than 80% of respondents said that early departures negatively impact workplace dynamics. Key consequences included inefficiencies in time and resource allocation (37.6%), increased workload on remaining staff (32.0%), weakened organizational cohesion (15.9%), and rising turnover among existing employees (13.9%).
The cost of onboarding a single new hire was significant, with 21.5% of companies reporting expenses exceeding ₩3 million (approximately $2,200). Another 35.9% spent less than ₩500,000, while the rest fell between those ranges.
Despite these challenges, less than half of the surveyed firms had formal programs in place to curb early attrition. Only 34.5% of HR managers said their companies operate initiatives to retain new hires.
Among the retention strategies in use, incentive-based rewards such as bonuses or additional vacation time were most common (52.6%), followed by mentorship programs (38.3%) and structured onboarding efforts (37.0%).
Experts say the findings highlight a disconnect between the rising urgency of employee retention and the relatively limited efforts made to address the issue — a gap that may continue to strain organizational stability in a tight labor market.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
