Ministry of Employment Selects 27,790 Small Giant Companies This Year

Increased by 11,135 Compared to Last Year
Non-Capital Region Companies Account for 43.1%

Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik is speaking at the labor-related party-government meeting held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 3rd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the 4th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the selection of 27,790 Small Giant Companies for this year. This is an increase of 11,135 companies compared to last year, and 13,331 companies have been selected for two consecutive years.

Small Giant Companies have been selected annually since 2012 by the Ministry of Employment and Labor to provide information on excellent small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies that young people can trust and challenge themselves with. The selection is based on outstanding companies recommended by central government ministries, public institutions, and local governments (recommended company brand), as well as companies that voluntarily apply, considering factors such as wage arrears, industrial accidents, credit rating, and exclusion of certain industries like entertainment.

In terms of company size, companies with 20 or fewer employees accounted for the largest share at 39.4%, followed by companies with 21 to 50 employees (38.4%), and companies with 51 to 100 employees (13.3%).

By industry, manufacturing accounted for 62.8%, followed by wholesale and retail trade at 12.1%, information and communication at 10.7%, and professional, scientific, and technical services at 6.2%. Regionally, 43.1% of the companies are located outside the metropolitan area (excluding Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi).

From this month, Small Giant Companies can post their company information on Youth WorkNet for one year and receive recruitment support. Additionally, they can enjoy various benefits such as preferential credit guarantees from the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, preferential selection as work-study dual system learning companies, priority support for heatwave disaster prevention facilities, and exemption from regular tax audits by the National Tax Service. The results of the Small Giant Company selection can be checked on the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s website or Youth WorkNet.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to go beyond the Small Giant Company selection criteria by designating companies with youth-friendly working conditions as "Youth-Friendly Small Giant Companies" and providing additional benefits. The application announcement for Youth-Friendly Small Giant Companies will be available on the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s website in August, and companies selected as Small Giant Companies this year will be separately informed about the application details.

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