Korean security firms Raonsecure and Genians compete for MZ talent with welfare boosts

Domestic information security corporations have recently begun public hiring for new employees in the first half of this year. These corporations are improving their work environments through enhanced salaries, benefits, and other aspects to attract MZ generation talent. As a result, the attractiveness of joining these firms has increased, leading to a high competition rate of nearly 116 to 1 last year in some cases.

According to the security industry on the 14th, Raonsecure announced on the 5th that it would conduct public recruitment for new employees. Established in 2012, Raonsecure is the leading mobile authentication technology corporation in the biometric authentication software market. The company has recently established a blockchain-based mobile identification system, including the construction of a "mobile resident registration card," and is also prominent in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI), deepfake, and post-quantum cryptography (PQC). This public recruitment targets positions such as ▲ sales for public and financial institutions as well as general corporations ▲ server development ▲ white hat hacker ▲ product quality ▲ standardization development.

Notable aspects of Raonsecure's hiring include high salaries and a corporate culture that promotes work-life balance. The starting salary for new employees at Raonsecure is 40 million won, placing it among the top tier in the industry. The corporation implements a flexible working hours system, allowing employees to come in between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m., and it hosts a "Family Day" on the third Friday of each month, allowing staff to finish their morning work and spend time with their families. Additionally, it offers welfare benefits such as a two-hour lunch break, meal support for breakfast and lunch, an annual welfare card worth 1.2 million won, and leisure vehicles for employees.

Due to these benefits, Raonsecure has recorded high competition rates in its new employee public recruitment every year. Last year, over 2,300 applicants competed, resulting in a competition rate of 116 to 1, the highest ever since its founding. This recruitment has been particularly noteworthy because it was conducted after relocating the headquarters to the Park One Tower in Yeouido, Seoul, which is believed to provide a work environment preferred by the MZ generation.

Some corporations are also working to attract talent through overseas job placements. Founded in 2005, Genians is strong in the field of network security, including Network Access Control (NAC) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR). The company's flagship product, NAC, manages who can access the network of companies or institutions and blocks unauthorized devices or users. EDR is installed on individual devices (endpoints) such as computers, laptops, and servers to detect and respond to threats like hacking or malware in real-time.

On the 5th, Genians announced that it is recruiting a product manager (PM) to be responsible for developing AI-based security solutions at its U.S. office. Key responsibilities include ▲ developing the product roadmap for Network Access Control (NAC), Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), and Endpoint Threat Detection and Response (EDR) ▲ applying AI-based threat detection and automatic policy application ▲ developing AI security features. Once hired, the employee will work at Genians' U.S. subsidiary in Silicon Valley, with visa support provided based on ability and circumstances.

Genians operates a flexible work system and a "Family Day" on the third Friday of each month, where only morning work is conducted. The company offers support for self-development costs (1.5 million won annually) and healthcare costs (1 million won annually). An analysis of Genians' youth hiring over the past three years shows a continued increase, with 70 hires in 2022, 88 in 2023, and 95 last year. Genians has stated it aims to recruit more than 10% of its workforce annually in the future.

The information security industry faces a longstanding challenge of labor shortages, leading to increased welfare benefits. According to a survey by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Information Security Industry Association (KISA) published last year, the most significant obstacle to technology development for information security corporations is securing and maintaining technical development personnel.

This is because the salary levels in the information security industry are relatively lower than those of other IT corporations. According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, the average salary per person at AhnLab, a representative information security corporation, was about 68 million won in 2023. In comparison, the average salary per person at Naver was 119 million won, and Kakao was 110 million won during the same period.

A security industry official noted, "IT corporations such as platforms and games generally offer higher wage levels, making it difficult for the security industry to secure talent," adding, "The industry is working to attract talent through a corporate culture friendly to the MZ generation."