Major South Korean firms are set to soon begin their annual process of hiring new employees, offering tens of thousands of jobs to fresh college graduates and first-time employees, industry sources said Tuesday.

Most large South Korean firms hold two hiring events -- one in spring and the other in fall -- to accommodate those graduating in such seasons.

Local industry leader Hyundai Motor Co. will be one of the first to launch the process as it is set to hold a job fair later in the month before it will begin receiving job applications between Aug. 30 and Sept. 9.

The company did not provide a specific number of jobs available, only saying it will hire new employees to work in the development, plant and market strategy departments.

SK Group, the country's third-largest conglomerate and parent company of mobile communications giant SK Telecom, will hire up to 2,600 new full-time workers through its own hiring process that will begin at the start of next year, companies officials said.

Top conglomerate Samsung Group has yet to announce its plans, but market observers believe the company will likely begin its process early next month as it usually has in past years.

While companies continue to seek new workers each year, increasingly more are looking for those who will best fit into their work environment, instead of those once considered the best picks based on their grade point averages, language skills or personal work experience.

For instance, those planning to apply for a job at SK Group do not have to write down their foreign language test scores on their resumes, or even attach their pictures.

Samsung Group also does not require high GPAs, scrapping all its GPA requirements for new job applicants last year.

Instead, job applicants at Samsung must take a company-administered aptitude test, known as the Global Samsung Aptitude Test, that evaluates people's academic intelligence but also their practical intelligence, such as their ability to think logically.

Market observers said the tens of thousands of new jobs will certainly offer a great relief to the country and its young population, whose jobless rate continues to remain high around 10 percent after peaking at a record high of 12.5 percent in February.

Still, many will find it difficult to land a new job as most companies are expected to hire less than in previous years, they noted.

In an earlier survey conducted by the Korea Employers Federation, 336 local firms with more than 100 workers each said they planned to reduce their number of new hires by 4.4 percent from a year earlier in 2016. (Yonhap)