The reputation of Korean universities among employers has not improved for several years, according to the Asian university rankings by the Chosun Ilbo and Quacquarelli Symonds.

Employer reputation is an indicator based on a global survey of how Korean and foreign firms assess university graduates. Some 44,226 personnel managers around the world were asked to make a list of universities from which able employees graduated.

Graduates from the top 10 Korean universities barely managed a combined average ranking of 29.8th this year, a little higher than last year's 31.2th but way behind Japan's 25.5th and with Chinese universities in hot pursuit at 31.4th.

The top 10 Chinese universities ranked a poor 81.4th in employer reputation in 2010, far below Korean universities, but they almost closed the gap this year.