The three major supermarket chains in Korea have seen a noticeable decrease in staff numbers compared to pre-pandemic levels. (Image courtesy of GS Supermarket)
SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – The landscape of South Korea’s job market has shifted dramatically over the last decade, with a significant decline in the number of sales and retail positions, largely due to the growing dominance of online shopping over traditional stores.
This shift has led to a noticeable reduction in personnel within the retail sector, mirroring trends in industries like banking where automation technologies such as unmanned checkouts, kiosks, and service robots are increasingly prevalent.
Data from Statistics Korea indicates that the number of individuals employed in sales roles was 2.62 million last year, a drop of 60,000, continuing a downward trend for the ninth consecutive year. Since 2013, the sector has seen a decrease of 453,000 sales jobs.
The roles affected range from retail sales in sectors such as apparel, cosmetics, electronics, and groceries to positions like cashiers and car salespeople. These jobs are characterized by direct interaction with customers and active sales efforts.
Despite the overall growth in employment across various sectors over the past decade, the sales sector has faced a stark contrast, with the largest drop in jobs occurring in 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Traditional retail companies, especially those with numerous offline stores, have been among the hardest hit by the pandemic and the surge in online shopping. The three major supermarket chains in Korea have seen a noticeable decrease in staff numbers compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Traditional retail companies, especially those with numerous offline stores, have been among the hardest hit by the pandemic and the surge in online shopping. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
For instance, E-Mart reported a reduction of over 2,000 employees from mid-2019 to mid-2021, Homeplus saw a decrease of about 3,000 employees, and Lotte Mart’s workforce diminished by over 2,000.
The downturn in performance has also led to staff reductions in major cosmetics and clothing companies, with brands withdrawing and overall employee numbers dwindling, albeit without formal restructuring.
The growth of e-commerce platforms like Coupang has contributed to a significant increase in online shopping transactions, from 94 trillion won in 2017 to over 210 trillion won in 2022.
The total transaction value for online shopping from January to November last year is expected to set a new record, with an 8.4% increase to 207 trillion won compared to the same period in the previous year.
Highlighting the need for comprehensive support measures, Cho Hyukjin, a researcher at the Korea Labor Institute, emphasized the importance of adapting to technological advancements.
“With the development of mechanization, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI), it is essential to provide education for workers who have lost their jobs to acquire new skills and to facilitate their placement in necessary job roles,” he said, calling for government-level interventions to mitigate the impact of these industry shifts.
Noticeable reduction in personnel within the retail sector mirrors trends in industries like banking where automation technologies such as unmanned checkouts, kiosks, and service robots are increasingly prevalent. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
