South Korea’s chipmaking giant SK hynix Inc. has been named the most desired company to work for among South Korean college students for the first time, a survey showed Monday. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 28 (Korea Bizwire) — For years, Samsung Electronics has reigned as the top choice among South Korean college students aspiring to land their first job. But that crown has now passed to another tech giant—SK hynix.
In a shift that reflects the evolving aspirations of a new generation of job seekers, SK hynix has been named the most desired workplace among college students for the first time, according to a new survey released Monday by the Seoul-based recruitment platform Incruit Corp.
Among 1,176 students currently preparing to enter the workforce, 7.7 percent chose SK hynix as their preferred employer, citing the company’s competitive compensation and growing prestige. Entertainment conglomerate CJ ENM ranked second with 6.7 percent, while Samsung Electronics, once a perennial favorite, slid to third at 5.4 percent.
Other top contenders included Naver, CJ Cheiljedang, Hyundai Motor, Kakao, and LG Electronics, offering a mix of tech, culture, and consumer-facing industries that continue to appeal to Korea’s highly educated young workforce.
The rise of SK hynix in the public imagination mirrors its ascent in the Korean corporate landscape. Once seen as Samsung’s quieter rival, the memory chipmaker has recently taken center stage—surpassing Samsung Electronics in operating profit for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2023.
In that period, SK hynix posted a record operating profit of 8.08 trillion won (US$5.86 billion), edging out Samsung’s 6.5 trillion won. The company’s booming performance has been largely driven by its dominance in the artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor market, where demand for high-performance memory chips is soaring amid the global AI arms race.
Now, that momentum is translating into a powerful brand image among young professionals—many of whom are increasingly drawn to industries linked with future technologies rather than traditional manufacturing or consumer goods.
While Samsung remains a technological powerhouse across semiconductors, smartphones, and appliances, its drop in popularity suggests a changing tide. For a generation raised in the era of AI and digital disruption, SK hynix now represents not just opportunity—but the future.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
