The Management of
Senior Civil Servants in Korea
October 6, 2003
Pan S. Kim
Professor of Public Administration
Yonsei University, Korea
E-mail: pankim@dragon.yonsei.ac.kr
Ministries
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Finance and Economy
Education and Human
Resources Development
Foreign Affairs and Trade
National Defense
Culture and Tourism
Commerce, Industry and
Energy
Health and Welfare
Labor
Maritime Affairs and
Fisheries
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Unification
Justice
Government
Administration & Home
Affairs(MOGAHA)
Science and Technology
Agriculture and Forestry
Information and
Communication
Environment
Construction and
Transportation
Gender Equality
1
The Civil Service Commission &
The Ministry of Government Administration & Home
Affairs
 The Civil Service
Commission (CSC) is a
central agency to
formulate personnel
policy of the
administration
 Composed of a
chairperson and 4
commissioners
* Established in May 24,
1999
The Ministry of
Government
Administration and
Home Affairs
(MOGAHA) is
responsible for the
implementation of
personnel policies.

Consolidation of
HRM function?
2
Key feature of the Civil Service System

Career vs. Non-career civil service
- 1.7% of all civil servants are non-career
services (as of December 31, 2001)

Merit system vs. Spoils system

Rank system vs. Job classification system
- Generalist vs. Specialist

Closed system vs. Open system
3
Classification of National Civil Service

Career Service




General Service: Grade1-9, 18 OG, 75 Series
Specific Service: Judges, Prosecutors, Police,
Educational,Diplomatic, Military Service, etc.
Technical Service: simple, technical work (Grade
1-10)
Non-Career Service



Political Service: Ministers, Vice-ministers,
elected officials
Excepted Service: No permanent job status;
personal secretaries, etc.
Contracted Service: professionals, scientists…..
4
Number of Civil Servants (1), as of December 31, 2001
The Legislative
3,211 (0.4%)
The Judicial
12, 817 (1.5%)
The Executive
National
Local
850,032(97.9%)
548,003(63.1%)
302,029(34.8%)
Other Constitutional
Organs


2,060 (0.2%)
Total Number of Civil Servants
868,120
Total Population: 45,985,289 (in 2000)
53 : 1
5
No. of National Civil Servants (The Executive)
Political Service
Excepted Service
Specific Service
Educational Service
Police & Fire Service
Foreign Service
103
2,347(0.4%)
389,936 (71.1%)
291,257(53.1%)
97,215(17.7%)
1,464 (0.3%)
General Service (CORE)
90,610(16.5%)
Technical Service
63,556(11.9%)
Labor Service
Contract Service
1,390(0.3%)
61
Total:548,003 as of December 31, 2001
* Core workforce  General Service (90,610)

6
No. of Women in the Executive (National+Local)
As of December 31, 2001
Total
Total
(A)
843,329 273,284
Female 278,225
(B)
Ratio
(B/A)
General Foreign Education Police& Judges& Technical Except- Labor Othe
Service Service al Service
Fire Prosecut- Service
ed
Service -rs
Service
ors
33.0
1,372
287,367 118,217
1,187 147,416
7,596
4,421 2,469
1,438
64,078
67
168,746
2,454
49
36,831
3,573
23.4
4.9
58.7
2.1
4.1
25.0
47.0
794
32.5 32.2
Yr 2001
No. of Women in the General Service (The Exec.)
Total
No. of total
employees
G1 to G5
Subtotal
273,284 28,745
G1
G2
G3
G4
G5
G6~G9 &
Research
72
372
993
6,226
21,082
244,539
63,027
Female(B)
64,078
1,051
0
2
19
157
873
Ratio(B/A)
23.4
3.7
0
0.5
1.9
2.5
4.1 7
25.8
Methods of Recruitment


Open/Competitive Entrance Examination

Exam for Grade 5 (Senior Civil Service Exam)

Exam for Grade 7

Exam for Grade 9 (Entry Level Exam)
Non-competitive selection examination

To prevent a backdoor entrance by political or personal
patronage, the National Civil Service Act prescribes twelve
cases in which non-competitive recruitment and selection
is allowed.
8
Affirmative Action Plans
Quarter System for Women Civil Servants
G5
G7
G9
Yr 1996
1997
1998
10%
13%
15%
-
-
-
1999
20%
2000
20%
2001
2002
20%
20%
23%
25%
25%
30%
Quarter System for the Disabled
 Every ministry should retain more than 2% of disabled
employees  needs to be “model employer”
 To achieve this, 5% of new employees should be reserved
annually for the disabled
* People in Science & Technology; Local Colleges?
9
Ways of Promotion


Promotion to Grades 4-8

Performance evaluation(50%)

Seniority(length of service) (30%)

Training results(20%)
- Eligibility list for each class (same grade, same
occupational series) is compiled twice a year

Promotion to Grade 5
- Examination may be required in some ministries
Promotion to G3(DG) or Higher

Screened and recommended by the Promotion Review
Committee/the Civil Service Commission

Performance, Abilities and Seniority
10
Retirement Age
General Service
G5 and above : 60
G6 and below : 57
Technical Service
50 – 57
Depending on job contents
Honorary Retirement System
 For those who have worked more than 20 years and wish
to retire
 Paid Honorary Retired Allowance
(Average of $ 20,000 in 1999)
 Allowed to be Honorary Promotion
11
Pay Structure
Pay = Base Salary + Allowances + Welfare Expenses
Base Salary: 10 schedules by job categories.
Allowances:
Common Allowances (5 types) : Diligence allowance,
Seniority Allowance ………
Special Allowances (35 types) : High Risk Allowance,
special Task Allowance………
Extra Work Allowances (3 types)………
Other Allowances (5 types) : Performance Bonus,
Allowance for children’s Educational Expenses……
Welfare Expenses:
6 types
12
Salary Table 2002
Grade/
Pay-step
Basic
Salary
Minister
4,594
4,128
2,132
1,729
1,322
888
487
726
526
410
Vice-Minister
1 / 22
3 / 22
5 / 19
7 / 13
9/ 4
5/1
Initial
7/1
Pay-step
9/1
Common
Allowances
Welfare
Expenses
1,023
847
524
341
134
182
132
102
893
704
1,250
981
673
486
347
500
381
324
(Unit : US $)
Total
Salary
(Monthly rate)
5,487
4,832
4,405
3,557
2,519
1,715
968
1,408
1,039
836
13
5 years Plan to increase Pay level
100%
95%
91%
97%
98%
Pay level Compared to the private sector
2000 Yr
2001 Yr
2002 Yr
2003 Yr
2004 Yr
 Conduct Annual survey on the level of pay in the private
sector (700 companies)
 Narrowing pay differentials year by year
 Introduce a contingency system by pay-adjusting allowances
14
Major Sectoral Reforms

Financial Sector


put an end to governmental control and enhance autonomy
of financial institutions
5 banks closed and 9 merged to larger ones ; 1 sold to
foreign investors, 16 out of 30 merchant banks to be shut
down
 Labor Market
 Labor, Management, Government - Tripartite Committee
established (reform through democratic consensus)
 provide liquidity in the labor market through introduction of lay off
and work dispatch system
 expand social safety net

Corporate Sector


revamp corporate governance
major conglomerates to restructure and swap business
lines and to stop financial cross-guarantees among
subsidiaries
15
 Public Sector
 For a small, but efficient government
 For an open and transparent government
 For a highly competitive government
 Toward an electronic-government




Restructure the government organizations
Improve regulatory functions
Enhance competition and efficiency in the government
Civil Service reform…………….
16
Major Civil Service Reform: Open Post System
Past: Closed system in the past, except for entry positions in
grades 9, 7 and 5 (Vacancies have been filled mostly through
internal promotion)
Present: Open Post System (OPS) was established (20% of senior
positions(142) are open to outside the government)
- Experts from the private sector are expected to be
employed
- Employment conditions are based on contracts
17
Job Posting

Vacant positions are posted publicly: media
and government homepages(www.csc.go.kr)

Any eligible candidates are encouraged to
apply for the posted position.

Applicants are screened and interviewed by
the selection committee.

The best qualified person will be selected.
18
Other Reform Measures

Introduction of 360 degree evaluation
- Most agencies use it for various purposes

Promotion of Personnel Exchanges:
- Central agency to central agency
- National government to local authorities
- Local authorities to local authorities
- Public sector to private sector

Employment of foreign experts by contract in the
field of education, scientific research, etc.
19

PRP (I): Annual Merit Incremental Program
- Application : Director General and
Higher (Grades 1~3)
- Components of pay



fixed pay portion: minimum and maximum range for each
grade, the amount of the pay for incumbents is calculated
by their base monthly salary, quarterly bonus, and other
allowances
variable pay portion: 4 categories of pay rate is decided by
performance appraisal based on MBO
Performance pay rate:
•
•
•
•
Excellent: S grade(top 10%)  8% of
performance standard amount in each grade
Outstanding: A grade(30%)  5%
Normal: B grade(50%)  3%
Unsatisfactory: C grade(10%)  0% 20
PRP (II): Performance Bonus Program
- Application : Director(grade 3 or 4) level and lower
- Form of payment : a lump-sum bonus
- Bonus amount
Bonuses are calculated by multiplying standard
basic salary by the performance bonus rate
- Performance Bonus Rate:
•
•
•
•
Excellent (top 10%)  110% of standard basic salary
Outstanding (30%)  80%
Normal (50%)
 40%
Unsatisfactory(10%) 0%
21
New Agenda: Senior Management
Motive to Reform






Financial Crisis & IMF Bailout in 1997
Low World Competitiveness
High Rigidity (Closed System)
Lack of Leadership on the Top
Lack of Competency & Responsiveness
Necessity of Cultural Change: life-long
job security and lack of performance
management
22
Number of Senior Civil
Servants






Grade 1: Assistant Minister Level: 201
Grade 2: Direct-General Level: 545
Grade 3: Direct-General Level: 514
HAVE ALREADY OPENED UP 20 PERCENT
FOR OPEN COMPETITION
Excludes positions in the Office of the
President, the Office of the Prime Minister,
the National Intelligence Service, the
Board of Audit and Inspection
Excludes positions of the Specific Service
(military, police, fire service, and
23
prosecutors) and fixed term positions
Number of Positions for
Open Competition

142 positions as of September 18,
2003

Filled 124 positions: 72: 28


89 positions (71.8%) by internal recruitment
35 positions (28.2%) by external recruitment
(30 from the private sector; and 5 from other
government agencies)
24
The “Average” OPS
Characteristics
Age: 50 years old
 Education: master’s degree (46%)



Doctoral degree (30%)
Employment: Career civil servants (62%)

Contact-based employment: 38%
Period of Employment: 2.1 years
(a term of no more than 5 years)
 Gender: Male dominated


Women: only 4 persons (3.3%)
25
Positive Effects of OPS
- openness & responsiveness
- competition: global competitiveness
- stimulation (cultural change):
build up a performance culture
- improvement of expertise:
self-directed learning
capacity building
26
Problems

Could not recruit the best of the best: lack
of attraction in terms of pay, benefits, and
job security

Possibility of Political Influence

Low Representation of Women

Fragmented HRM System: needs more
comprehensive system for executives
27
Korean Government’s Plan to
Establish the SES/SCS
2001: The Civil Service Commission
considered to establish it, but failed to
pursue
 2003: Establishment of the SES/SCS was
included in the “HRM Reform Roadmap”
 Became part of HRM reform agendas
 President Roh (2003-2008) supports HRM
reform

28
Current Situation:
Too Fragmented





The management of senior civil servants has been
improved in the last few years, but still fragmented
and under-developed
The Civil Service Commission reviews their
recruitment and promotion
Each ministry lacks autonomous personnel authority
MOGAHA handles MBO: Their pays are determined
on the basis of the appraisal result of the
management-by-objective (MBO)
CSC deals with PRP: This year’s annual pay =
previous year’s annual pay + performance-related
pay +/- this year’s adjustment pay
29
Motives of Further Changes






Inbreeding: internally promoted workforce;
lack of nation-wide perspective; lack of
competitiveness
Fragmented management
Lack of strategic & systematic HRD
Poor performance management
Weak reward system
Needs to “make the managers manage!”
(to be “Change Agents!)
30
Issues for Further Development

Scope of Senior Management?
- Director-General or Higher or
- Director or Higher
* Whether to include: prosecutors,
policemen, and diplomats
 Competencies: need to develop a new
framework (personal qualities, leadership
qualities & management competencies?)
 Separate system from the mid- and
lower-level civil servants?
31
Issues for Further Development—continued
Recruitment?
- by selection committees
- by assessment centers
- by entrance competitions
 Appointment? Job Security?
- career
- renewable term
 Performance Appraisal and Pay Scheme?
- performance plan or agreement
- performance-related remuneration pay
 Training (management & leadership
32
development)?

Issues for Further Development—continued
The role of CSC: integrated management
of senior civil servants?
 Personnel Autonomy:
Each Minister’s Interest vs.
Integration of the CSC

Mobility vs. Expertise
 Potential Monopolization of Elites
Particularly from the Economy-Related
Ministries
 Effects of the Spoils System

33
Implementation Plan
Minimization of Political Influence & Internal
Resistance
 Improvement of Performance Management
and Provision of HRD Opportunities for
SES/SCS Candidates
 Devolution of Personnel Authority to Each
Ministry: Deregulation of Personnel Authority
for the Minister and the Establishment of
HRM Department in the Ministry
 Development of HRM Infrastructure: Job
Analysis, Development of Competency
Model, and Diversification of
34
Recruitments…

Time Schedule





2003: Launched a Research Project for
Establishment of SES/SCS
2003: Launched a Target Group’s Job
Analysis of the Central Government
Early 2004: Development of the Basic
Plan for Establishment of SES/SCS
Early 2004: Policy Hearing for the
Establishment of SEC/SCS
Late 2004 or Early 2005: Revision of the
National Civil Service Act
35