Hanwha Group vows to expand employment

Hanwha Group, South Korea's 10th largest conglomerate, said Sunday it will sharply increase the number of recruits over the next three years to join government efforts to tackle the nation's high youth unemployment.

The group said it plans to hire more than 5,700 workers in the second half of this year, up 35 percent from its earlier plan and more than double the number of recruits employed in the first half.

Hanwha also said it will push to employ a total of more than 17,000 new workers by 2017.

The conglomerate said the employment plan is designed to join the government-led drive to resolve the issue of high youth joblessness.

Last week, the government said it will join hands with the private sector to create 200,000 new jobs for young people by 2017, while also working to permanently increase employment opportunities for young adults.

The government will seek to encourage private companies to hire more full-time workers by offering tax breaks and providing cash for companies that introduce the so-called wage peak system.

The move came as South Korea's jobless rate for people aged between 15 and 29 reached a record level of 10.2 percent in June, much higher the country's overall unemployment rate of 3.9 percent.