Top 4 Domestic Groups Increased Employment by 7,000 Last Year... Employee Count Nears 700,000

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Last year, South Korea's four major conglomerates?Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK, and LG?increased employment by more than 7,000 people. The number of employees hired by these four groups approached 700,000, accounting for 43% of the total employment within domestic corporate groups.

According to the analysis of 'Management Performance and Employment of 71 Domestic Corporate Groups' conducted by the Korea CXO Institute on the 2nd, the number of employees in the four major groups increased by 7,442 (1.1%) compared to the previous year. Among the four groups, SK led the overall employment growth by adding nearly 4,000 employees (3,937 people, 3.6%). Samsung (1,241), Hyundai Motor (1,241), and LG (1,023) also increased their workforce by around 1,000 employees each.

Through active employment expansion, the total number of employees hired by these four major groups reached nearly 700,000 as of last year. This represents 43% of the employment of the 71 groups subject to disclosure designated by the Fair Trade Commission.

While employment increased among the four major groups, the employment situation worsened when expanding the scope to the top 10 groups. Last year, the total number of employees in the top 10 domestic groups was 965,258, a decrease of about 7,687 compared to the previous year. The biggest impact came from the employment downturn at Lotte Group. Lotte Group's employment last year was 84,295, down 7,453 (8.1%) from the previous year. Additionally, major groups such as Hanwha (3,435), GS (2,434), and POSCO (1,490) reduced their workforce by more than 1,000 employees each.

Meanwhile, the total sales of the 71 domestic corporate groups were estimated at around 1,600 trillion won, equivalent to 84% of South Korea's nominal GDP. Among the sales of the 71 groups, Samsung Group accounted for 20.8% with 333 trillion won, followed by Hyundai Motor (181 trillion won, 11.3%), SK (139 trillion won, 8.7%), and LG (123 trillion won, 7.7%).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.