The majority, or 88.5%, of companies in South Korea failed to hire as much talent as they had aimed for in 2022, according to research from Saramin HR.

The number one difficulty when it came to recruitment was ‘lack of suitable candidates’ which was cited by 57.4% of firms. This was followed by ‘lack of applicants’ (24.6%), ‘departure of candidates in progress’ (9.8%), and ‘negotiation of salary and treatment’ (6.5%). The study also noted that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) received fewer applicants than large enterprises. 

Saramin suggested that ‘recruitment branding’, which refers to activities that make jobseekers want to join a company, is in the limelight.

The study noted that 48% of all responding companies rated their recruitment brand as 'low’. The figure was higher for SMEs (small to medium enterprises) (62.3%) and startups (51%) than for large companies (28.9%) and medium-sized companies (36.3%). Saramin noted that analysts say that small and medium-sized businesses and startups that have not gained preference from applicants is due to low corporate awareness.