If Entering a Major Corporation Is Difficult, Target Subsidiaries and Sub-Subsidiaries [K-Women Talk]

Over 3,000 Subsidiaries Belong to Major Corporations
Detailed Information Available on the Corporate Group Portal

Lee Sook-eun Publisher of Employment Backbone · CEO of Lee's Bookstore

Our love for large corporations reaches its peak when it comes to employment. Not only fresh graduates but also employees with 2 to 3 years of experience at small and medium-sized enterprises tend to give up their careers and apply to large corporations as 'secondhand fresh graduates.' As testimonies like "I surpassed the salary I earned in 2 or 3 years within just one year" flood employment communities, along with responses such as "Even being a servant is better than working for a noble family," the concentration on large corporations seems almost inevitable.

As much as we have a strong desire for large corporations, do we really know them well? How many large corporations are there in South Korea as of last year, and how many subsidiaries do they have? How many subsidiary names of the large corporations you are interested in can you name?

The reason for posing these questions is to point out that even large corporations, which are as difficult to penetrate as the eye of a needle, have niches like subsidiaries and sub-subsidiaries. As of May last year, there were 82 large corporations in South Korea, but they had as many as 3,076 affiliated companies. On average, each group manages about 35 companies. The top companies in the business world, such as Samsung Group with 63, SK Group with 198, and Hyundai Motor Group with 60 affiliated companies, also have many subsidiaries.

Semes, Multicampus, Samwoo Architectural Firm. These three belong to Samsung Group, but just by looking at their company names, you cannot tell they are part of Samsung Group. Semes is a semiconductor equipment company known as Gadmes, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics; Multicampus is a corporate education specialist company and a subsidiary of SDS; Samwoo Architectural Firm is the number one architectural design company in Korea. Since they are top companies in their respective industries, competition to enter is fierce. However, the job search results of those who know about these companies within Samsung Group and those who do not are bound to differ. How unfortunate it would be to focus only on the 19 companies participating in Samsung Group's open recruitment and miss out on the other 44 valuable subsidiaries.

The same goes for other large corporations like SK and Hyundai Motor. They actively acquire new growth companies and spin off promising organizations into subsidiaries, increasing the size of their affiliated companies. In SK's case, SK Foundry, SK Specialty, and STAC have changed their names or newly joined, and Hyundai Motor Group has newly created subsidiaries like Motoras and Unitus under Mobis.

What are the working conditions like at large corporation subsidiaries? It varies by industry and company, but salaries are generally about 10-30% lower than the parent company. If the starting salary for a new employee at the parent company is 55 million KRW, subsidiaries typically offer mid to high 40 million KRW. However, welfare benefits tend to be similar to those of the parent company. Health checkups for the employee and one family member, family medical expense support, welfare points, and tuition support for university students are commonly applied across almost all subsidiaries. Incentives and performance bonuses can also reach the parent company's level depending on performance. This is why large corporation subsidiaries overwhelmingly win in the 'large corporation subsidiary vs. mid-sized company' balance game on employment communities.

Ultimately, those who quickly and thoroughly know the information of more than 3,000 large corporation subsidiaries are the winners. Where can you find such information? Fortunately, South Korea has the 'Corporate Group Portal' site operated by the Fair Trade Commission. You can see how many large corporations there are, how many affiliated companies they have, their total assets, and net income. It is updated annually, so you can also grasp the overview of newly established subsidiaries. The highlight of this site is the 'Stock Ownership Structure.' Each of the 82 large corporations has a dedicated page with a detailed organizational chart of subsidiaries, showing even the percentage of shares invested by the parent company.

Among stock investors, there is a saying: "Invest in companies where the controlling shareholder has a large stake." By looking at the kindly prepared 'Stock Ownership Structure' and discovering hidden subsidiaries, you might be able to secure not only employment but also investment opportunities.

Lee Sook-eun, Publisher of Employment Backbone and CEO of Lee’s Bookstore