Would a low salary be acceptable if the employer were a major conglomerate? Young South Koreans say no. More than half said actual working conditions matter more than a company's brand name, and a majority of those who left small and mid-sized firms did not stay a full year. The findings point to a labor market where jobs are harder to land and harder to keep.
64.7% Cite Pay as Top Priority
Pay was the most important factor when looking for a job, cited by 64.7% of respondents, according to a survey on youth perceptions of jobs at small and mid-sized companies released on the 25th by the Korea Federation of SMEs. Working hours followed at 51.9% and job security at 50.9%.
The survey covered 1,000 people aged 19 to 39 from Aug. 26 to Sept. 9.
The most common minimum expected salary was between 2.5 million and 3 million won ($1,700 to $2,100) before taxes, cited by 35.6%. Another 18.3% named 3 million to 3.5 million won and 9.5% named 3.5 million won or more. In total, 63.4% expected at least 2.5 million won a month.
Some 56.5% said practical conditions such as pay, the work environment and room for growth matter more than company size. Among those already working at smaller firms, the figure rose to 64.5%.
Their view of conditions at those firms, however, fell short of those expectations.
Poor working conditions and workplace culture was the most cited reason for hesitating to join a smaller firm, at 52.3%. Lower pay than at large companies and public institutions came next at 49.8%, followed by concerns about career development and growth prospects at 36.4%.
58.7% of Leavers Stayed Less Than a Year
Among 191 respondents who had worked at a small or mid-sized company, 58.7% had been employed for less than a year in total.
The largest group, 37.2%, said they worked between six months and a year. Another 15.7% stayed three to six months and 5.8% less than three months.
Low pay was the leading reason for quitting, at 41.4%. Poor working conditions and excessive workloads with long hours each accounted for 37.2%.
Only 46.7% of those currently employed at smaller firms said they intended to stay. Among other young people, including the unemployed, just 30.6% said they would consider working at such a company.
Views on the job market were also downbeat. Some 46.6% said hiring opportunities had shrunk from a year earlier, about 6.7 times the 7.0% who said they had grown.
Looking to 2027, 40.3% expected hiring opportunities to decline, far outnumbering the 9.4% who expected them to expand.
Respondents pointed to the practice of requiring hands-on experience from entry-level applicants, at 52.0%, and the spread of rolling recruitment focused on experienced hires, at 48.7%, as the main hurdles in job hunting.
Housing and Pay Key to Regional Jobs
Attitudes toward smaller firms outside the Seoul metropolitan area depended on the terms offered.
A total of 55.3% said they would be willing to work at such a company if pay, benefits and job duties were satisfactory.
Housing support, including subsidies for rent or dormitories, was the most needed condition at 55.2%. Pay competitive with the capital region followed at 47.5% and transportation or commuting support at 43.9%.
The leading reason for ruling out jobs outside the capital area was having to live far from family and friends, at 61.3%.
Asked which policies would encourage young people to join smaller firms and stay longer, 40.2% chose financial support such as employment incentives and income tax cuts. Housing support was named by 38.2% and help building savings and assets by 33.9%.
Improving pay and benefits for young employees already on staff was the top area for government support to raise job quality at smaller firms, at 62.0%.
Yang Ok-seok, head of the workforce policy division at the Korea Federation of SMEs, said the pay and benefits gap between large and smaller companies must be narrowed, along with improvements to workplace culture and conditions. Support for long-term employment and better housing and transport conditions are also important to easing labor shortages at regional firms, Yang added.