"Satisfactory Salary and Compensation System"...
SK Hynix Takes First Place for the First Time
CJ ENM Rises to Second as a "Welfare Powerhouse"...
Samsung Electronics Drops to Third
The Trend of Prioritizing "Salary and Compensation Systems" Becomes More Pronounced
SK Hynix has claimed the top spot for the first time in this year’s survey of "Companies University Students Want to Work For," surpassing last year’s leader, Samsung Electronics. This achievement is attributed to record-breaking quarterly earnings driven by high-bandwidth memory (HBM) sales, as well as a bold performance-based compensation system that has precisely matched the expectations of job-seeking students.
On the 28th, HR tech company Incruit announced the rankings for the "2025 Companies University Students Want to Work For." The survey targeted 1,176 university students currently seeking employment, evaluating the top 170 companies by market capitalization listed on the Korean stock market.
"Satisfactory Salary and Compensation System"... SK Hynix Takes First Place for the First Time
This year, SK Hynix (7.1%) ranked first for the first time ever, climbing an impressive eight spots from last year. The company received particularly strong support from engineering and electronics majors (16.8%) and male job seekers (9.3%).
The overwhelming reason university students chose SK Hynix was "a satisfactory salary and compensation system" (66.7%). In fact, on the 28th, SK Hynix paid all employees a "Productivity Incentive" (PI)?a type of performance bonus?at the maximum level, equivalent to 150% of base salary. The company’s exceptional performance in the high-value memory semiconductor market, including HBM, has been directly reflected in its compensation system.
CJ ENM Rises to Second as a "Welfare Powerhouse"... Samsung Electronics Drops to Third
CJ ENM (6.7%) took second place, rising from fifth last year. The most cited reason for choosing CJ ENM was "excellent employee benefits" (41.8%). CJ ENM was the most desired company among female job seekers (8.5%), and also ranked highest among humanities, social sciences, business, and education majors (9.6%).
Samsung Electronics, which held first place in both 2023 and 2024, dropped to third this year with 5.4% of the votes. The most common reason for choosing Samsung Electronics was "a satisfactory salary and compensation system" (41.3%). Naver, which ranked fourth (4.7%), dropped two places from last year. Rounding out the top five were CJ CheilJedang (3.1%) in fifth, with Hyundai Motor Company and Kakao tied for sixth (2.6%), LG Electronics in eighth (2.2%), and Samsung C&T and Ottogi tied for ninth (1.8%). Ottogi entered the top ten for the first time in the history of this survey.
The Trend of Prioritizing "Salary and Compensation Systems" Becomes More Pronounced
This year’s survey revealed a noticeable shift toward a "compensation-centered" employment value system. For six out of the top ten companies, "salary and compensation" was cited as the main selection criterion. As economic uncertainty increases, companies that clearly present fixed salaries and performance incentives are becoming more favored among job seekers.
Lee Myungji, head of Incruit’s Brand Communication Team, stated, "The trend of prioritizing salary and compensation systems has become even more pronounced this year, driving changes in the rankings of top companies. Based on this year’s results, companies should emphasize clear compensation and a leading company image when developing their recruitment branding strategies."
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