Unemployment is rising, especially among young Koreans, despite the gradual economic recovery in the world economy, and the main culprits seem to be red tape and the rigidity of the country's labor market.

According to OECD statistics announced Friday, youth unemployment in Korea rose from 8.1 percent in 2009 to a record 9.8 percent last year. Yet in the U.S. it fell from 17.6 percent to 10.4 percent over the period and in Japan from 9.2 percent to 5.2 percent, while in Germany and the U.K. it also dropped about four percentage points. Overall, youth unemployment in the OECD fell an average of three percentage points.

One former economics minister here said, "This is what happens when there's not enough effort to reform the labor market, nurture new industries and implement structural reforms."

Major conglomerates that can offer high-quality jobs are tired of red tape and rigid labor regulations at home and move their production abroad. The Federation of Korean Industries compared the employment situation in seven major conglomerates from 2010 to 2016 and found that while local hires grew 8.5 percent or around 20,000 jobs, overseas hires soared 70.5 percent or 150,000 jobs.

