South Korean university students picked Samsung Electronics as their most desired future employer. (AFP-Yonhap)

Samsung Electronics has been picked as the most desirable company to work for among college students here this year, occupying the top spot for the first time in a decade, a tally from a job portal showed Wednesday.

Incruit surveyed 872 job-seeking university students nationwide and the results showed 8.1 percent of them chose the tech giant out of 130 listed companies by market capitalization on South Korea’s benchmark Kospi and secondary Kosdaq.

Those who picked Samsung cited the company’s “satisfactory pay scale and compensation system” as its key attractions.

In the same annual survey, Samsung had been picked as the most preferred employer for five consecutive years between 2009 and 2014 but lost the title over the past decade even though it remained in the top 10 list.

The latest feat comes after Samsung raised the starting salary for college graduates to 53 million won ($41,510) last year. The company has also made diverse efforts to create a more flexible corporate culture, including its latest experiment with a four-day week once a month.

Internet giant Kakao was ranked second as the most favored employer by earning support from 7.5 percent of the respondents. Until last year, Kakao held the top spot for three consecutive years.

Respondents also picked Kakao's generous welfare benefits as the key strength. Kakao has designated the last Friday of every month as a recovery day to allow employees to rest and supports their activity costs through various benefit programs. Recently, it also opened the largest workplace daycare center in the local industry.

Naver came in third at 6.8 percent, followed by Hyundai Motor Group (5.6 percent), Amorepacific (3.3 percent), CJ ENM (2.9 percent) and SK hynix (2.8 percent).

Hyundai Motor, which ranked third last year, rose by one spot this year. On the contrary, SK hynix slid from fourth place and Korean Air fell two places to ninth place.

Local builder Samsung C&T newly entered the top 10 list this year with 2.5 percent.

In this year’s survey, other Samsung affiliates were also included in the top ranks along with the tech titan and the construction arm. Hotel Shilla (2.1 percent) and Samsung Biologics (1.8 percent) came in 11th and 12th, respectively.

Male students showed the strongest preference for Samsung Electronics with 11.3 percent saying they wanted to work there. Among the female respondents, 8.7 percent chose Kakao as their preferred future employer.

Students majoring in humanities, social science and business mostly chose Naver (9.1 percent). Engineering majors preferred Samsung Electronics with 14.1 percent. Kakao topped the list for science and medical majors with 7 percent.

The survey said students’ preferred company selection factors have changed to a high level of annual salary, welfare benefits and absolute rewards from career growth through learning opportunities. Another important factor for students were whether the company has plans to hold recruitment drives.

By Jie Ye-eun (yeeun@heraldcorp.com)