S. Korean conglomerates to cut wages for college graduates

SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top 30 business conglomerates have
agreed to reduce the wages of university graduates employed by them this year in
an effort to stabilize job security, the nation's top business lobby group said
Wednesday.
The business conglomerates, including Samsung, Hyundai Motor and LG, will slash
annual wages for their new employees by as much as 28 percent, the Federation of
Korean Industries said in a statement.
"The agreement is aimed at enhancing job-sharing efforts," the FKI said in the
statement.
Last week, the government said it would cut the annual salary for college
graduates at 297 state-run companies.
South Korea's economy, Asia's fourth-largest, is widely expected to fall into its
first recession in 11 years, hammered by the deepening global economic slump.
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