CJ Group said Tuesday it will expand hiring and domestic investment, pledging to recruit 13,000 employees and invest 4.2 trillion won ($3.1 billion) in Korea over the next three years.
Most new hires will be young job seekers. The conglomerate noted that 71 percent of recruits last year were aged 34 or younger, and the youth share of total hiring over the past three years has exceeded 70 percent.
Despite management uncertainty since the COVID-19 pandemic and a broader shift among large Korean firms toward rolling recruitment, CJ Group said it will maintain its open recruitment program for entry-level positions, with this year’s intake of new graduates set to rise by more than 20 percent from last year.
On the investment front, CJ plans to spend 1.5 trillion won domestically this year — a 45 percent increase from last year — bringing total three-year domestic investment to 4.2 trillion won. The group said it will focus on projects outside Seoul and its surrounding area to help revitalize regional economies.
CJ has already built large-scale facilities in provincial regions, including the CJ Blossom Campus in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province — the country’s largest food production complex — as well as major logistics hubs operated by CJ Logistics in Daejeon and the North Chungcheong Province counties of Okcheon and Cheongwon. Additional processed food lines, logistics centers and retail stores are planned this year.
The group said the expanded hiring and investment support the government's policies on youth employment and balanced regional development despite the economic slowdown.
Chairman Lee Jay-hyun has emphasized that companies should serve as “guardians of young people’s dreams,” calling for businesses with strong job creation effects. CJ added it aims to provide quality jobs for both science and engineering majors and humanities graduates facing tougher employment prospects.
“We will cultivate talent that can strengthen global competitiveness in areas such as K-content, K-food and K-beauty while fostering a culture that encourages new challenges,” a CJ official said.
Source: Korea Times News
