Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) is launching a large-scale hiring drive centered on artificial intelligence, a core technology behind its new robotics business. The group aims to secure more than 10,000 new employees a year to take the lead in intensifying global competition in advanced technologies including AI, semiconductors, biotechnology and power.
Samsung Group said on the 7th that it plans to proceed with second-half open recruitment "to provide quality employment opportunities to young people while expanding domestic investment to prepare for the future."
Samsung will accept applications from the 8th through the 15th on its recruitment website, Samsung Careers. The process will then move through job-fit assessments, the Global Samsung Aptitude Test (GSAT), interviews and health screenings. Software applicants will take a software skills test instead of the GSAT, while design applicants will submit a design portfolio for review in place of the exam.
Nineteen affiliates will recruit about 6,000 people: Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, Samsung Biologics (207940.KS), Samsung Bioepis, Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung Display, Samsung SDI, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung SDS, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Samsung Card, Samsung Securities, Samsung Heavy Industries, Samsung E&A, Hotel Shilla, Cheil Worldwide, S-1, Samsung Medical Center and Samsung Welstory. Combined with a first-half round of similar size, total hiring this year will reach about 12,000.
Samsung plans to concentrate on recruiting talent in advanced technology fields such as AI, semiconductors and biotechnology. Samsung Electronics is working to strengthen competitiveness across its businesses, from memory chips, where demand is surging from Big Tech, to Galaxy smartphones, where the company is expanding sales by capitalizing on weakness in the global handset market. Demand for technical talent is also rising sharply after the company decided to spend 110 trillion won on future investments including capital expenditure and research and development this year, topping 100 trillion won for the first time.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics has also seen hiring needs grow as it expands output of semiconductor substrates and multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC), which are drawing heavy orders from Big Tech firms, and develops new technologies. Samsung Display and Samsung Biologics are preparing for further growth in the second half after posting double-digit earnings gains in the first six months.
Samsung plans to hire a total of 60,000 people over the five years through 2030, starting this year. Some observers expect the figure to exceed 12,000 this year, given how quickly demand for technical talent has grown. Jay Y. Lee, executive chairman of Samsung Electronics, pledged at a meeting of business groups and corporate executives at the Presidential Office last August that the company would "continue related investments so that we can consistently create quality jobs at home and foster high value-added industries."
Samsung is the only one of South Korea's four largest conglomerates that still holds regular open recruitment for new graduates. Its open recruitment began in 1957, the first of its kind in the country, and marks its 70th year in 2026. The company added a separate open recruitment track for female college graduates in 1993 and removed educational requirements from its eligibility criteria in 1995, part of a steady overhaul of its hiring system.
Alongside open recruitment, Samsung runs the Samsung Software & AI Academy for Youth (SSAFY), which provides free software education and job-search support to young people. Since 2019, about 9,400 graduates have completed the program at five campuses nationwide in Seoul, Daejeon, Gwangju, Gumi and Busan, and have gone on to jobs at roughly 2,600 companies at home and abroad. The program recently expanded eligibility beyond college graduates to include graduates of Meister high schools and reorganized its curriculum around AI. Samsung has also given special hires to about 1,600 winners of the national skills competition.
"With affiliates from a wide range of sectors taking part in open recruitment, we will keep working to ensure that the warmth of growth leads to quality jobs for young people and a virtuous cycle in the national economy," a Samsung official said.
