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Korea's largest companies opt for experience over youth, less workers in 20s hired

Published: 16 Jul. 2025, 11:25 Updated: 16 Jul. 2025, 12:19

Companies are seen in the night view from Mount Namsan in central Seoul on July 7. [YONHAP]

Employees in their 20s made up a shrinking share of the workforce at Korea’s largest companies over the past two years, highlighting hiring shifts and a growing preference for experienced workers.

CEO Score, a local corporate data tracker, on Wednesday released an analysis of employee age structures at 67 of Korea’s top 100 companies by revenue. The report examined sustainability disclosures filed from 2022 to 2024.

According to the findings, the share of employees in their 20s fell from 24.8 percent in 2022 to 22.7 percent in 2023 and 21 percent last year. In absolute terms, the number dropped from 291,235 to 243,737 over two years, down nearly 47,500.

More than half of the surveyed companies — 38, or about 57 percent — reduced their headcount of employees in their 20s. Meanwhile, the number of employees aged 30 and older rose by roughly 35,000 over the same period, from 880,747 to 915,979.

A breakdown by company showed the steepest decline at Samsung Display, where the share of employees in their 20s plummeted by 15.4 percentage points from 43.8 percent in 2022 to 28.4 percent in 2024.

SK On followed with a 12.3 percentage point drop, trailed by LG Innotek by 8.9 percentage points, SK hynix by 8.8, Samsung SDI by 7.9, Naver by 7.1, Samsung Electronics by 6.6, Hanwha Solutions by 6.4, Samsung Electro-Mechanics by 5.9 and LG Display by 5.6.

The proportion of employees in their 20s at Korea’s largest companies has plunged over 2022 to 2024. [CEO SCORE]

By contrast, Hanwha Aerospace saw the biggest increase, as its share of workers in their 20s surged 8.3 percentage points to 15.8 percent in the same period, helped by a boom in its defense business.

LX International posted a 6.7 percentage point gain, while SK Energy, Samsung E&A, S-Oil, Hyundai Steel and Hyundai Glovis also raised their ratios by more than 4 percentage points each. SK geo centric, Doosan Enerbility and Hanon Systems followed with increases of roughly 3 to 4 percentage points.

Among the flagship units of Korea’s four largest conglomerates, Samsung Electronics’ share of employees in their 20s slipped from 30.8 percent in 2022 to 24.2 percent in 2024. SK hynix also saw a notable drop, from 29.6 percent to 20.8 percent. In contrast, Hyundai Motor raised its share slightly from 20.8 percent to 21.8 percent, while LG Electronics edged up from 17 percent to 18 percent.

“With growing economic uncertainties, companies appear to be scaling back or scrapping open recruitment for new graduates, switching to rolling recruitment and favoring experienced hires,” said Cho Won-man, CEO of CEO Score.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]