Connecting Young Talent with Regional Mid-sized Enterprises... '2026 Mid-sized Enterprise Job Fair' to Be Held in Daejeon

Industry Ministry: "Expecting 2,000 Hires Linked to the Fair in Both Halves of This Year"

This Year, Non-Metropolitan Mid-Sized Enterprises Also Eligible for "Youth Employment Leap Incentive"

"Mid-sized Enterprise Growth Ladder 2030 Strategy to Be Announced Within the Year"

A job fair for mid-sized enterprises aiming to foster local win-win cooperation by connecting promising young talent with regional mid-sized companies struggling to secure qualified personnel will be held on September 8 in Daejeon.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it will host the "2026 Mid-sized Enterprise Job Fair" at the Daejeon Convention Center on this day.

This event will feature 66 outstanding mid-sized and prospective mid-sized companies and about 2,000 job seekers. Notably, it will include YCI and Nepes Ark in the semiconductor sector, Hanmi Pharm and Huons Group in the bio sector, and SINFAC in the machinery sector. Over the past 12 events, the fair has supported employment for over 9,000 people. The ministry expects that this year, both the first and second half will see a total of 2,000 successful job placements.

The government has expanded the eligibility for the Youth Employment Leap Incentive, which provides bonuses for hiring and retaining youth in full-time positions, to include non-metropolitan mid-sized companies, in addition to small businesses. In addition, the number of industry-skilled military service personnel assigned to each mid-sized company has been increased from two to five. The "Core Research Personnel Growth Support Project for Mid-sized Companies," which subsidizes the salaries of young master's and doctoral researchers and experienced research professionals, will also continue to receive steady support.

Kyu Bong Lee, Director-General for Mid-sized Enterprise Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, "Mid-sized companies account for only 1.5% of all companies in Korea but provide 13.9% of total employment, thus offering high-quality jobs. In particular, as the key players in regional economic growth engines across the five regions and three special zones, mid-sized companies will continue to drive local economic growth and job creation going forward." He added, "The ministry plans to announce the 'Mid-sized Enterprise Growth Ladder 2030' strategy within the year and will continue to establish and support a systematic growth foundation for mid-sized companies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.