South Korea’s Conglomerate Holding Company CJ Group To Address The Issue Of Youth Unemployment By Hiring 14,000 Young People By 2017

by Czarelli Tuason / Sep 28, 2015 08:31 PM EDT

Portrait of business people | By: Multi-bits

Korea JoongAng Daily reported on Wednesday South Korean conglomerate CJ Group announced their plan of hiring 14,000 young entry-level individuals as regular employees by 2017. To initiate the plan, the group aims to hire 4,000 employees this year, which is twice the number from 2014.

For 2016, the group plans to hire another 4,500 employees and then another 5,500 for 2017. An additional 16,200 interns is also included in the strategy.

CJ Group's plan is formulated to abate the issue of youth unemployment in South Korea and to keep up with the increasing businesses in the country.

According to Korea Herald on July 26, the youth unemployment rate in the country increased from 330,000 in 2013 to 380,000 in 2014. It further reached 410,000 in the first half of 2015. The government has even developed a special task force in June to help the youth find careers based on their skills and educational and training background.

For now, the group has not yet laid out detailed investment and employment plans due to the absence of Chairman Lee Jay Hyun. Lee was allegedly convicted of tax evasion and establishing a slush fund in 2013, noted Hollywood Reporter on June 26, 2013.

Sohn Kyung Shik was appointed to fill Lee's position.

The youth-focused move of hiring a large number of entry-level workers raised the possibility of amending Lee's penalty of three years imprisonment and $21.4 million fine which the Supreme Court imposed on him just days before the employment scheme was organized.

South Korea President Park Guen Hye met with 17 Korean conglomerate heads in July, including Sohn, to encourage them to allot positions in their companies for the youth to help improve the economy.

Several companies, including CJ Group, Samsung and Hyundai Motor Group, heeded the president's call and announced plans of introducing the so-called peak wage system, which aims at increasing employment rate by gradually cutting down the salaries of older workers nearing their retirement age.