Jung Sye-kyun: "Abolishing Grade 5 Civil Service Exam, Korean National Police University, and Public Official Seniority System... Expanding Internal Promotion Opportunities"

Jeong Se-gyun to Announce Civil Servant Personnel System Innovation Plan on 23rd
Four Major Reform Tasks to Eliminate Privileges
Prosecutor Appointment Requirements Strengthened to Over 10 Years of Legal Experience

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Jeong Se-gyun, former Prime Minister and presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced on the 23rd that he would abolish the Grade 5 Administrative Examination. Instead, he said he would expand internal promotion opportunities and allocate about half of the Grade 5 open recruitment positions to Grades 7 and 9. He also pledged to abolish the Korean National Police University and convert the civil servant seniority pay system to a job-based pay system.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On this day, Jeong held a press conference at the National Assembly and promised a plan to 'innovate the civil servant personnel system.' Jeong emphasized, "To resolve social inequality and maintain economic growth, the government and public sector must innovate first," adding, "The class system and seniority system are not in line with the times." He then proposed four major reform tasks to eliminate the seniority system and privileges.

First, Jeong said, "I will abolish the civil servant seniority pay system and switch to a job-based pay system." He explained that the current seniority-centered structure based on age inevitably causes intergenerational conflicts, decreases individual motivation, and lowers economic productivity. He emphasized, "Through changes in the wage and compensation system, we will reform the hierarchical work structure of the public sector and transform the organizational culture into one that is innovative and open."

He also announced plans to abolish the Grade 5 Administrative Examination and the Korean National Police University. Jeong said, "About half of the Grade 5 open recruitment positions will be reallocated to Grades 7 and 9 to greatly expand internal promotion opportunities, and the recruitment of private-sector experienced personnel will be further expanded." He explained, "We must eliminate the unfair system that allows one exam to leapfrog 20 years of experience and create a public service society guaranteed by fairness."

Regarding the current Korean National Police University system, which has been continuously criticized for monopolizing senior executive positions by its graduates, he said he would abolish the Police University that produces privileges and provide fair promotion opportunities to all police officers.

Along with this, he announced plans to strengthen the requirements for prosecutor appointments to at least 10 years of legal experience. While judges must have at least 10 years of legal experience starting in 2026, he intends to apply the same standard to prosecutor appointments.

Jeong pointed out, "Among the 73 prosecutors appointed this year, 57.5% were aged 25 to 29, and 36.9% were aged 30 to 33," adding, "Compared to judge appointments, their age is relatively low and experience is insufficient."

Jeong emphasized that through these pledges, "I will build a strong Republic of Korea through public reform without seniority."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.