[Q&A] Korea's public sector aims for major overhaul with focus on young officials, work-life balance

By Jung Da-hyun

With the rising number of young public officials choosing to step down early and a declining interest in civil service exams, concerns are growing over a potential crisis in the public sector.

In response, the government has pledged to improve working conditions for junior officials, front-line staff and field workers.

"This year, we will prioritize better treatment for these employees, enhance compensation and take measures to prevent workplace hazards," Minister of Personnel Management Yeon Won-jeong said. "Through these efforts, we aim to boost morale in the public sector and implement meaningful work reforms."

The Ministry of Personnel Management, which oversees the government's civil service, handling matters like recruitment, training, compensation and ethical conduct, has outlined four key goals with 14 core initiatives designed to restore public trust in government service.

The ministry is also preparing policies to address the nation’s low birthrate — a pressing national issue — and plans to expand the use of retired public officials in various roles.

Below is an excerpt of The Korea Times’ interview with Yeon, edited for clarity and readability.

Q: What steps is the ministry taking to improve working conditions for junior and entry-level public officials in order to reduce turnover and attract talented individuals to the public sector?

A: First, we increased public officials' wages by 3 percent, which is the highest level in eight years.

To further improve conditions for junior and working-level officials, we raised the starting salary for entry-level public officials by 6.6 percent from last year, bringing the average monthly wage to 2.69 million won ($1,860). Our goal is to gradually raise this to 3 million won per month by 2027.

Additionally, we plan to construct approximately 5,000 rental housing units in Seoul and Sejong by 2030, with priority given to young junior public officials.

Q: What policies is the government implementing to support pregnancy and child care in response to the low birthrate and aging society?

A: With the low birthrate being one of the most pressing challenges facing our society, we believe it is crucial for the government to set an example as a model employer — ensuring that public officials can balance work and family life.

As part of this effort, the government extended spousal maternity leave from 10 days to 20 days starting in February, allowing fathers to support mothers and newborns for about a month after birth.

To better address the child care needs of elementary school children, the age limit for parental leave eligibility will be expanded from 8 years old, or second grade, to 12 years old, or sixth grade.

Considering the growing number of individuals undergoing infertility treatment, we plan to introduce a new type of leave specifically for this purpose.

Additionally, we will require government offices to grant maternity protection time for pregnant civil servants when they need rest or medical treatment. A special leave policy will also be introduced, allowing male civil servants to accompany their spouses to pregnancy checkups.

Q: What motivated the personnel management ministry to implement its own work reform initiatives and what are the key details?

A: Introducing flexible work arrangements and improving organizational culture to enhance government productivity is a key task for the ministry. We created work innovation guidelines by actively incorporating feedback from employees, in order to pilot policies in the ministry and expand them across all government agencies later on.

As part of these reforms, we have made significant strides, including mandatory weekly remote work for pregnant public officials, a first among central government agencies. In addition to introducing flexible work hours, the ministry allowed reducing lunch breaks by 30 minutes this year, allowing employees to leave work early.

We are also focusing on horizontal organizational culture changes and promoting family-friendly policies, such as expanding “workation” opportunities for public officials.

Q: What are the key areas of focus this year and future plans for promoting and sharing Korea's personnel administration system internationally?

A: The ministry plans to share Korea’s experience and advancements in personnel administration systems with many Asian countries including Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan to expand and strengthen cooperation.

To further establish long-term collaboration with Mongolia, we plan to introduce a new course comparing the personnel administration of Korea and Mongolia for undergraduate students at the National University of Mongolia. Following last year's memorandum of understanding with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in the field of personnel administration, we will continue to cooperate with these countries.

In particular, we plan to offer training for public officials from Kyrgyzstan who have studied or worked in Korea, sharing successful policy examples, including those related to Korea's personnel administration.

Moreover, the Korea-Japan-China Personnel Policy Network's the 10th Heads Meeting, which has been held every three years since 2005, will be hosted in Korea this year to foster trilateral cooperation in public personnel administration.

Additionally, the ministry will host the third MPM-OECD Asia Public Service Network Conference to discuss key issues in public personnel administration across Asia.

Q: What are the key components of the ministry's digital-based personnel administration and the use of artificial intelligence (AI)?

A: We are finalizing an integrated recruitment system, which allows civil service exam information and applications to be processed in one place. This service will launch later this year, making the process more convenient for applicants while significantly improving the efficiency of exam management.

We are also developing a digital personnel management system to become more data-driven and personalized, expecting it to contribute to enhancing government productivity.

Since July last year, the ministry has been operating a task force to establish an AI-based work system, aiming to improve AI utilization in the public sector. We developed AI-driven verification software for property evaluations, reducing the processing time from over three months to just two to three days.

Q: What are other future plans of the ministry?

A: As a public sector that exists to serve the people, we will continuously transform to ensure dedication to meet the expectations of the public while delivering tangible results.

Additionally, considering the ongoing influx of younger public officials, we will focus on creating a more rational public sector culture and supporting the work-life balance of our employees.