HR platform companies listed on the KOSDAQ market posted relatively solid results last year despite the hiring freeze. While revenue from existing platform businesses slowed as corporate hiring demand plummeted, the companies succeeded in generating results from artificial intelligence-related new businesses and investment activities.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's Electronic Disclosure System on the 15th, HR tech company Wanted Lab (376980) reported consolidated revenue of 38.1 billion won, up 3.8% year-over-year. Both operating profit and net profit successfully turned to black. Wanted Lab operates a recruitment business providing AI-based hiring services and an "AI Transformation (AX)" new business.
Wanted Lab attributed its revenue growth to the AX new business. The company reorganized its operations into the AX business by applying "Wanted LaaS (Large Language Model as a Service)," launched in 2023, to its existing businesses. Wanted LaaS is a platform that leverages various LLMs to help companies quickly build their own generative AI services.
HR platform company Saramin (143240) recorded consolidated revenue of 121.2 billion won and operating profit of 16.8 billion won, down 5.5% and 21.1% year-over-year respectively. However, net profit surged 641% year-over-year to 91.8 billion won following the sale of its stake in business card platform Remember. Saramin invested a total of 80 billion won in Remember through fund and equity acquisitions in 2021, and successfully sold its stake last year at a valuation of several hundred billion won.
Korea's job market is currently frozen. The job opening ratio—the number of job openings per job seeker—stood at 0.36 last year, the lowest since statistics began in 2001. While new job seekers remained steady at 3.6 million, new job openings fell to 1.3 million. The number of job openings has nearly halved in three years from 2.41 million in 2022.
Against this backdrop, both companies have signaled their commitment to focusing on new businesses this year. Wanted Lab has stated it aims to achieve a 1:1 ratio between its recruitment and AX businesses within the year. As of the third quarter last year, recruitment and AX businesses accounted for 73% and 21% of revenue respectively. A Wanted Lab official said, "Although the current job market is somewhat conservative, we will pursue earnings growth through the expansion of our AX new business."
Saramin is also working to develop new services. The company launched foreign worker recruitment service "Comate" in 2024 and mid-career platform "Wonderful Senior" for workers in their 40s to 60s in 2025. Last year, it also launched dating app "Begins," expanding its business beyond recruitment. Saramin has expressed its intention to use the estimated 160 billion won recovered from the Remember sale for new businesses including AI service development. A Saramin official said, "This year, we will establish our expanded services in the market while continuing to discover new opportunities to achieve a solid earnings rebound."
