Naver and Kakao 'Big Tech' Criticized Amid Calls to "Hire More People"

No Withdrawal of Labor Regulation-Only Policy, Request to "Hire People"

Workplace Harassment and Wage Arrears "Cultural Improvement" Task Is a Bonus

Minister of Employment and Labor An Kyung-duk (fourth from the left) and others pose for a commemorative photo at the Ministry of Employment and Labor and Major IT Companies CEO Meeting held at the President Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 15th.
From the left: Seong Jun-ho, CEO of Smilegate Holdings; Lee Seung-won, CEO of Netmarble; Han Sung-sook, CEO of Naver; Minister An; Yeo Min-soo, CEO of Kakao; Lee Jung-heon, CEO of Nexon Korea; Koo Hyun-bum, Vice President of NCSoft. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] While the political sphere is preparing to intensify the National Assembly audit of major big tech companies such as Naver and Kakao, the government has appealed to these companies to increase jobs. Since the 'quality jobs' that young people want to pursue are in information technology (IT) companies, the government is asking for their cooperation. Some criticize the government's attitude of asking for more jobs while implementing policies that stifle innovation as contradictory behavior.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Minister An Kyung-duk called the CEOs of Naver, Kakao, Nexon Korea, NCSoft, Netmarble, and Smilegate on the 15th and asked them to "increase youth employment." This came right after KT announced it would hire an additional 12,000 young people and Samsung announced an additional 30,000 hires. While the government openly designates IT, finance, large corporations, and public enterprises as 'quality jobs,' it directly requested CEOs to "hire more people."

Minister An said, "Major IT companies have become the most desired companies for Korean youth," conveying the government's goal of providing 'quality jobs' and asking for corporate cooperation. After KT and Samsung met with the government and decided to hire an additional 12,000 and 30,000 people respectively, he once again emphasized to companies the need to increase youth recruitment. He added, "Since many young people still face difficulties finding employment, I hope that when preparing for new hires in the second half of the year, companies will open the door of opportunity wider for our youth."

Minister An's remarks follow his meeting with HR and labor executives from 30 major corporations at the end of June, where he urged them to increase open recruitment. At that time, there was criticism that the government was neglecting the trend of companies increasing on-demand hiring due to rising labor costs caused by industrial restructuring risks and minimum wage hikes. He also added that the government would strengthen support. Minister An said, "We will continue the government's youth job support policies such as the 'Youth Employment Cheer Project' and the 'K-Digital Training' program."

The problem is that while the government demands obligations from companies, it does not accept requests such as expanding employment flexibility. Since the Moon Jae-in administration took office, companies have started reducing hiring due to ▲ amendments to the Labor Union Act (expanding bargaining rights for the unemployed) ▲ enactment of the Serious Accident Punishment Act ▲ minimum wage increase from around 6,000 won to 9,000 won per hour ▲ implementation of income-led growth policies. Among workers, the term 'Bucae' (second character) became popular, referring to regular employees who find it difficult to cope with rising housing prices and social insurance fees and thus take on multiple jobs, becoming 'N-jobbers' (people holding several jobs).

Meanwhile, the government did not properly reflect management's demands. When applying the amended Labor Union Act, requests to provide guidelines on strikes by unemployed and dismissed workers within workplaces and to exclude CEOs from punishment under the Serious Accident Punishment Act were not accepted. Similarly, requests to refrain from raising the minimum wage next year were also ignored.

On top of that, the government has assigned the task of improving workplace culture, including addressing 'gapjil' (abuse of power) and wage arrears within IT companies. Earlier, on July 27, the Ministry of Employment and Labor conducted a special labor inspection of Naver and found not only workplace harassment but also wage arrears amounting to 8.7 billion won, subsequently referring CEO Han Seong-sook and Naver to the prosecution. Minister An emphasized, "Public interest and expectations regarding workplace culture are higher than ever," and urged, "I hope both management and labor actively cooperate, led by management, to create a more rational and horizontal organizational culture that employees desire and meet the public's expectations."

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