Japanese jobs for S Korean graduates dry up amid trade row

SEOUL, Sept 04 (Reuters): Song Min-su, a Japanese major in his final year at Hannam University, south of Seoul, has watched in dismay as a spat between South Korea and Japan over wartime forced labor has spiraled into a damaging political and economic row.

Song, 25, has been pursuing his dream of working in Japan. With historic labor shortages in Japan, he had been confident he would avoid the tough job search many of his peers faced at home in South Korea, where youth unemployment is growing.

But Japanese curbs on the exports of high-tech materials to South Korea has escalated a bitter diplomatic feud between the neighbors, sparking boycotts that have hit the sales of Japanese cars, beer and other goods in South Korea, as well as travel to Japan.

"It will not only get harder to find a job in Japan, but the current sentiment will also make things more difficult to find a job in Korea with the use of my Japanese major," Song said.

South Korea has long had testy relations with former colonial ruler Japan, with Tokyo citing a dispute over forced labor during World War Two as a factor that led to tighter export controls implemented in July.

South Korea responded by stripping Japan of favored trading nation status and scrapping an intelligence sharing pact.

The dispute has derailed a surge in hiring of highly educated South Korean graduates by Japanese companies in recent years, forcing job seekers, employment consultants and the Seoul government to rethink Japan as a place to work.

That has piled more pressure on South Korean President Moon Jae-In, who came to power in 2017 on promises to create jobs and address inequality.

Nearly 10 per cent of South Koreans aged 15 to 29 were jobless in July, according to Statistics Korea, but the department says the real rate be as high as 24 per cent including those with temporary or part-time jobs, who gave up looking for jobs or who are preparing for state examinations.

Employment growth in South Korea has been sluggish as conglomerates that dominate the economy have slowed hiring due to a sharp rise in minimum wages and a cooling economy, especially in the manufacturing and construction industries.