Ha Tae-kyung: "Cut civil servants by 20%... Reduce total staff to within 1 million"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Ha Tae-kyung, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, promised on the 24th to reduce the total number of public officials by 20%, bringing it down to under 1 million.

At a press conference held at the National Assembly that day, Ha stated, "Within the presidential term, I will drastically reduce the total number of public officials, which was significantly increased by the Moon administration, by 20%, cutting it down to under 1 million."

He introduced, "During the four years of the Moon Jae-in administration, the number of public officials increased by 113,350 to reach 1.22 million," adding, "Next year, that number will surge to 1.25 million."

Ha also argued that "increasing public officials is a regression of the times and a plundering of the future." He explained, "In an era of population cliff where the population is decreasing, only the number of public officials is increasing in the opposite direction," and added, "With the rapid advancement of IT (Information Technology) enabling administrative automation, we can no longer neglect the fiscal burden that plunders future generations."

He said, "In 2020, public officials' personnel expenses amounted to 90 trillion won, accounting for 17.5% of the total national budget," and "Next year, it will surge to 110 trillion won."

Ha stated, "The solution is to restore the number of public officials, which was drastically increased by the Moon administration, to its original state," and pledged, "If I become president, I will organize unqualified and low-performing public officials." He introduced, "To this end, I will revise the National Public Officials Act to implement an annual ‘Standard Evaluation System for Job Performance Ability.’ Those who receive below-standard ratings twice or more will be dismissed."

He continued, "I will restructure unnecessary organizations, including the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and actively introduce administrative automation," promising. He explained, "Under the current National Public Officials Act, restructuring is possible according to ‘the opening and closing of organizational units or reductions in budget,’" and added, "By continuously expanding administrative automation areas such as AI adoption, even if unnecessary organizations are restructured, we can provide more accurate and convenient administrative services to the public."

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