This study typologized the human resource management systems of Korean firms from the theoretical perspective of strategic human resource management and empirically analyzed the relationship between each type and firm characteristics. To this end, a survey was conducted with HR managers and strategy/planning managers of firms listed on the Korean stock market as of 1998. Empirical analysis based on data from 271 listed firms revealed that Korean firms' human resource management systems can be classified along two dimensions: a relation-transaction dimension and a high utilization-low utilization dimension. Type I (relation, low utilization) and Type II (transaction, low utilization) were classified as traditional Korean HRM systems, while Type III (transaction, high utilization) and Type IV (relation, high utilization) were classified as HRM systems whose adoption has been expanding in recent years. Analysis of the determinants of HRM system types using a multinomial logit regression model revealed that business strategy, membership in the top 30 chaebol groups, whether the CEO holds a foreign degree, and labor unions were statistically significant variables.