S. Korea's top 30 conglomerates hire less, invest more in 2015

SEOUL, April 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top 30 conglomerates by asset hired less in 2015 compared with the previous year although they increased capital spending, data showed Tuesday.

The number of employees at 272 companies under the wings of the 30 biggest business groups fell 0.4 percent to 1.013 million at the end of 2015 from 1.018 million a year earlier, according to the data compiled by market tracker CEO Score.

But their combined facility investments, excluding investments in research and development activities, rose 17.9 percent during the same period, the report said.

Among the groups that jacked up their workforces were Hyundai Motor Co., LG Group, Hanwha Group and Shinsegae Co. In contrast, those whose workforces declined included Samsung Group, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., POSCO and Doosan Group, the data showed.

Samsung's workers decreased following the deal to hand over its defense and chemical units to Hanwha Group. Hyundai Motor recruited 3,000 last year, up 2 percent from a year earlier.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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