An Oasis in a Job Market Freeze: Finance Draws More Young Applicants as Banks Slow Hiring

For young South Koreans facing a prolonged hiring freeze, finance is being treated as an oasis. The sector continues to recruit relatively large numbers, even as major companies reduce open hiring and artificial intelligence threatens to replace jobs.

Im Juwon, 27, studied science and engineering but turned toward finance after hearing that jobs in those fields were also difficult to find. She began preparing early and built experience through internships and extracurricular activities at three banks and one insurance company.

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I turned toward the financial sector because I heard that finding a job was difficult even for science and engineering majors.

Even that preparation no longer feels exceptional. Im said many people around her were preparing for financial-sector jobs, and she had heard that her qualifications were only average by comparison.

Banks remain popular because of their stable, relatively high salaries. But securities firms and asset-management companies have become increasingly attractive after strong performance tied to the stock-market boom that began last year. The label “securities job seeker,” or “jeungjun-saeng,” has become increasingly visible in the employment market as applicants follow the sector’s expanding recruitment.

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I heard that the qualifications I had built were only average.