Ministry hosts job fair to connect regional mid-tier firms with young talent, targeting 2,000 hires

The government held a job fair Tuesday to connect regional mid-tier companies with young talent and support the development of industrial growth engines across five major and three special economic zones. The government plans to unveil its Mid-Tier Firm Growth Ladder 2030 strategy before the end of this year.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it is hosting the "Mid-Tier Firm Job Fair" at the Daejeon Convention Center in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, on Tuesday.

The event brings together 66 companies and more than 2,000 job seekers. Participating firms include YC and Nepes Arc in the semiconductor sector, Hanmi Pharm and Huons Group in biotech, and Simpac in machinery.

The ministry has held 12 such events to date, supporting employment for more than 9,000 people. This year, it expects to facilitate around 2,000 job placements across the first and second halves of the year. Annual placement figures have more than doubled over the past four years — from 993 in 2022 to 1,139 in 2023, 2,293 in 2024 and 2,178 in 2025.

To ease labor shortages at strong regional mid-tier firms and encourage young people to take jobs outside Greater Seoul, the government this year expanded eligibility for the Youth Job Leap Incentive from small and medium-sized enterprises to mid-tier firms outside the metropolitan area. The program pays subsidies to companies that hire young workers as full-time employees and retain them.

The government also raised the number of industrial technical personnel slots allocated to mid-tier firms from two to five per company, and will continue to subsidize the hiring costs of young master's and doctoral graduates as well as experienced technical specialists at mid-tier firms.

"Mid-tier firms account for just 1.5 percent of all companies in Korea, yet they are responsible for 13.9 percent of total employment," said Lee Gyu-bong, director general for mid-tier firm policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "We expect them to continue driving regional economic growth and job creation, particularly as the core players in the growth engines of each of the five major and three special economic zones."

Lee added that the ministry plans to release the "Mid-Tier Firm Growth Ladder 2030" strategy before the end of this year and will work to build and support a systematic foundation for the growth of mid-tier companies.