Young public officials are disappearing... 7,000 Grade 4 and below retirements over 10 years

Over 7,000 Officials Below Director Level Retired in 10 Years
Policy Continuity and Expertise Declining Increasingly

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok]

#The resignation of a probationary officer who retired last month from the Ministry of Economy and Finance recently attracted attention. The officer passed the highly competitive Grade 5 open competitive recruitment exam last year and joined the public service earlier this year, but left the public office in less than a year, drawing interest. A senior official at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, who heard that the officer was moving to a leading domestic IT company, said, "Although it was difficult to achieve significant results immediately as a probationary officer, they contributed to policy formulation related to COVID-19," and added, "It is regrettable that they are retiring."

The 'young blood' is disappearing from the public service responsible for national policies. Over the past decade, more than 7,000 Grade 4 (Senior Administrative Officer) and Grade 5 (Administrative Officer) officials have voluntarily retired. As social issues such as industrial restructuring and demographic changes become increasingly complex, there are concerns that the continuity and expertise of policies will decline. In particular, although the Moon Jae-in administration set a policy to increase public officials by 100,000 under the pretext of strengthening public policy, voluntary retirements of Grade 4 and 5 officials have been increasing since 2017.

According to data on 'Annual Public Official Retirement and Reemployment Status over the Past 10 Years' received on the 8th from the offices of Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the People Power Party, the Ministry of Personnel Management, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and other government departments, 7,078 Grade 4 and 5 officials voluntarily retired from 2011 to last year. Considering that 300 to 400 people enter public service annually through exams, the number of voluntary retirements over the past decade far exceeds the number of new recruits. The number of Grade 4 retirements increased from 294 to 356 during the same period, and Grade 5 retirements also rose from 307 to 371. Voluntary retirements of young public officials, which decreased during the Park Geun-hye administration, have rather increased since the Moon Jae-in administration took office.

The reasons for young public officials' resignations are complex. Lower salaries compared to private companies, the need to commute between Sejong Government Complex and Seoul after relocation, and reemployment restrictions after becoming senior officials hinder the vision of public service. Experts express concern about the retirement of lower-ranked officials. The quality of practical work in major policy formulation declines, and policy continuity becomes difficult to expect. Professor Kim Yong-cheol of the Department of Public Administration at Pusan National University said, "The more young bureaucrats leave, the more it will hinder the improvement of work proficiency," adding, "As anxiety spreads that even after becoming senior officials, one cannot plan for the future, organizational unrest may arise."

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