Part 1. Vocabulary
|
conglomerate |
/kənˈɡlɒm.ər.ət/
n. relating to a
conglomerate, especially a large corporation: "conglomerate businesses" |
|
unveil |
/ˌənˈvāl/ v. - remove a
veil or covering from, in particular, uncover (a new monument or work of art)
as part of a public ceremony: "the mayor unveiled a plaque" |
|
engage |
/inˈɡāj/ v. - participate
or become involved in: "organizations engage in
a variety of activities" |
|
customized |
/ˈkəstəˌmīzd/
adj. made or changed according to
the buyer's or user's needs: The company specializes in
customized computer systems. |
|
tend |
/tend/ v. - to be likely to behave in
a particular way or have a particular characteristic: Children tend
to get unsettled if you keep on changing their routine. |
Part 2. Comprehension Questions
What is the purpose of Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum in
seeking a meeting with major conglomerates?
What did Samsung unveil to the group plan?
When did the prime minister begin the initiative with
telecom company KT?
What is the traditional system of recruitment in South Korea?
What is the government trying to resolve according to the
article?
Part 3. Article
* PM set to meet chaebol chiefs in October
Major conglomerates are being implicitly urged by the government to retain
their former scale of recruiting new employees, at a time when landing a job
has become increasingly tough for college students. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum
is seeking a meeting with the chiefs of LG, Hyundai, and SK Groups next month,
to request that they continue to ensure mass recruitment drives.
Kim met with Samsung Electronics head Lee Jae-yong earlier this week to ask him
to hire more people in addition to a recently unveiled group plan. Samsung
announced it would hire 40,000 workers over the next three years, via Korea's
conventional recruitment system. But following the meeting, the tech giant
stated it would be recruiting 30,000 more workers within this timeframe,
bringing the total number to 70,000.
The company said it would double the number of trainees in its software
training program to 2,000. The program facilitates recruitment at Samsung's
affiliates.
The prime minister began the initiative with telecom company KT, Sept. 7. KT
stated it would hire 12,000 individuals over the next three years, and would
provide training in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector to 3,600 young
people in cities nationwide during that time.
Kim is seeking to next meet with LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo. The prime minister
will likely ask LG to also engage in substantial-scale recruitments in the
coming years, and set up more programs in AI and robotics, sectors which the
conglomerate is focusing on as future growth engines.
In recent years, a number of Korea's largest business groups have switched
their hiring planning to year-round recruitment to fill specific needs, instead
of a twice-yearly mass employment system. They traditionally conducted mass
recruitments in the first and second halves of the year; but Hyundai Motor and
LG groups changed their systems to recruitment as per demand.
"Under Korea's traditional system, it took time to train a new recruit to
perform work at a certain division, which made the process inefficient,"
an official from a conglomerate said.
"Now each division or even a team is able to hire individuals customized
to positions when they need to. Also, the total number of new recruits has not
fallen."
This is, however, a concern of the government. Under the traditional system,
companies disclosed the number of people they were hiring but under the
on-demand system it is difficult to keep track of how many are newly employed.
Firms also tend to prefer experienced workers, which decreases the slots
available for young people fresh out of college.
By Kim Bo-eun, read here:https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2021/09/133_315720.html