Analysis of 88 Groups by Korea CXO Institute
Samsung Ranks First in Total Group Employment Size
The total number of employees in 88 domestic large business groups increased by more than 55,000 compared to the previous year, showing a 3% employment growth rate. Coupang added more than 32,000 jobs in the past year, while SK saw a decrease of over 9,500 jobs, resulting in mixed employment outcomes. Last year, Samsung Electronics maintained its position as the top employer among single companies with more than 118,700 employees.
The Korea CXO Institute, a corporate analysis specialist, announced the results of the "2022-2023 Employment Change Analysis for 88 Groups" on the 5th. The survey targeted 88 large business groups designated by the Fair Trade Commission this year with assets exceeding 5 trillion won. Employment status by group was referenced from Fair Trade Commission disclosure data listed in the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system. Employment figures are based on domestic affiliates as of the end of December.
There are 3,318 domestic affiliates within the 88 large business groups designated by the Fair Trade Commission this year. The total number of employees in these companies last year was 1,837,324, an increase of 55,919 compared to 1,781,405 in 2022. The employment growth rate was recorded at 3.1%. This is a 0.6 percentage point increase compared to the 2.5% (42,981 jobs) employment growth rate observed in 82 groups in 2022.
The total employment scale of the 88 groups was over 1.83 million as of the end of last year, accounting for about 12.1% of the 15,199,534 people enrolled in employment insurance during the same period. Among them, 43 groups increased their number of employees in the past year, while 36 groups showed a decline. Nine groups were newly included as large business groups this year or had no change in employee numbers.
Among the 43 groups that increased jobs, Coupang had the largest increase in employment. The Coupang group’s employee count rose from 52,551 in 2022 to 84,702 last year, an increase of 32,151 employees. Coupang Fulfillment Service played a significant role in adding over 30,000 jobs in one year. The Hanwha group also increased its workforce from 42,555 to 55,009 during the same period, adding 12,454 employees. Other groups showing growth included Hyundai Motor (8,836), POSCO (6,353), Samsung (4,282), and CJ (3,554).
On the other hand, the SK group’s employee count decreased by 9,549 from 124,499 in 2022 to 114,950 last year, marking a 7.7% decline in employment. This was due to the sale of SK Shieldus (6,827 employees) and Caps Tech (4,848 employees), which were affiliates of the group until 2022, to other companies. Other groups that reduced employment by more than 1,000 compared to the previous year include KG (down 2,711), Shinsegae (down 2,209), LG (down 1,834), and Lotte (down 1,751).
Looking at the employment status of individual companies within the 88 groups, which include over 3,300 companies, 28 companies had more than 10,000 employees last year, joining the "10,000 Employees Club." Among them, Samsung Electronics maintained its top position as the only single company with over 100,000 employees, recording 118,725 employees. Following were Hyundai Motor (73,267), Coupang Fulfillment Service (64,109), Kia (36,884), and LG Electronics (36,363).
In terms of total employment size by group last year, Samsung recorded the highest number with 278,284 employees. Samsung had 242,006 employees in 2017 and has shown continuous employment growth for six consecutive years through last year. Following Samsung were Hyundai Motor (197,727), LG (154,941), SK (114,950), Lotte (86,244), and Coupang (84,702).
Oh Il-seon, director of the Korea CXO Institute, said, "Although large business groups hold a significant economic share in Korea, the pace of employment growth is slow due to the continuous introduction of automation systems, and in reality, small and medium-sized enterprises are responsible for actual employment." He added, "To expand domestic employment in the long term, various policies should be prepared to help small and medium-sized enterprises with 30 to 100 employees increase their workforce."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
