The share of employees in their 20s at the country’s top conglomerates has plummeted over the past two years. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 17 (Korea Bizwire) — As South Korea grapples with deepening youth unemployment, a new study reveals that the share of employees in their 20s at the country’s top conglomerates has plummeted over the past two years—raising concerns about a generational imbalance in the corporate workforce.
According to a report released Wednesday by CEO Score, a corporate data research institute, the proportion of workers in their 20s at 67 of Korea’s 100 largest companies fell from 24.8% in 2022 to 21.0% in 2024—a 3.8 percentage point drop. The absolute number declined by nearly 47,500, from 291,235 to 243,737.
The findings come as corporate hiring increasingly favors older, experienced workers over young job seekers. Over the same period, the number of employees aged 30 and older grew by more than 35,000.
More than half of the companies surveyed reported a decline in their share of 20-something employees. Samsung Display saw the steepest fall, with the proportion of 20s-aged workers plunging from 43.8% to 28.4%, followed by SK On, LG Innotek, and SK hynix.
Conversely, a few firms bucked the trend. Hanwha Aerospace nearly doubled its proportion of young workers, from 7.5% to 15.8%, buoyed by a surge in defense industry demand. LX International, SK Energy, and Hyundai Steel also posted notable increases.
By conglomerate, Samsung Electronics saw its 20s workforce shrink from 30.8% to 24.2%, while SK hynix dropped from 29.6% to 20.8%. Hyundai Motor, in contrast, increased its 20s share from 20.8% to 21.8%, and LG Electronics from 17.0% to 18.0%.
“The sharp decline appears tied to macroeconomic uncertainty, which has led companies to scrap open recruitment drives in favor of targeted hiring and to prioritize experienced workers over new graduates,” said CEO Score President Joo Won-man.
The trend adds another layer of urgency to South Korea’s youth employment crisis, underscoring the widening gap between corporate hiring practices and a generation in search of opportunity.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
