The proportion of mature jobseekers over the age of 30 is increasing. According to job portal Incruit, the proportion of university graduate jobseekers aged 30 or over has grown from 13.6 percent last year to 19 percent.

Out of 117,999 people who applied for entry-level positions through the Incruit website last year, 16,019 were in their 30s, but from January to September this year, 16,353 out of 86,192 jobseekers were in their 30s. This pulled up the average age of those seeking entry positions from 27 last year to 27.5 this year.

Incruit CEO Lee Kwang-suk said, "An increasing number of students take a leave of absence while at university, and due to gloomy job prospects many people delay graduation. The new law lifting the age limit for jobseekers in March this year also contributed to this ageing trend."

But recruiters still tend to prefer younger applicants, reports suggest, because older new entrants disturb the seniority pecking order within the company and have a harder time adjusting to the new environment. A poll by job portal Job Korea of 525 recruiters revealed that 46.8 percent do not prefer older jobseekers although there is no age limit for applications.