The Departure of Key Operational Personnel Is a Bigger Issue...Urgent Need to Ensure Policy Continuity

Increasing Retirees in Economic Ministries
Financial Services Commission from 6 to 13 in 2 Years
Fair Trade Commission from 16 to 32, etc.

Five-Year Basic Plans of Each Ministry
Major Policy Scales Growing Larger
Difficulty in Securing Expertise

Urgent Need for System Maximizing Policy Autonomy
Calls to Expand Incentives Before Retirement

Candidates for the 2021 National Civil Service Open Competitive Recruitment Interview Exam heading to the interview venue at KINTEX Exhibition Center 2 in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] It will be 10 years next year since the government office moved from Gwacheon to Sejong. Although it has been nearly 10 years since the office was relocated to Sejong as part of national balanced development, instead of the 'Sejong government' system settling in, the number of young public officials leaving is actually increasing. There are ongoing concerns that if public officials involved in various policy decision-making tasks and permits leave, policy capabilities could weaken. In particular, although the Moon Jae-in administration increased the number of public officials, the cases of resignations have been on the rise.

According to data received on the 8th from the Ministry of Personnel Management by Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the People Power Party, voluntary retirements (resignations) among public officials peaked at 6,019 in 2014 and decreased to 3,255 in 2017. However, they increased for four consecutive years from 3,837 in 2018 to 4,210 in 2019, and 4,255 last year. The Moon Jae-in administration increased the number of public officials from 631,380 to 735,909 over four years to implement the 'income-led growth' policy aimed at increasing incomes of low-income groups, overcoming polarization, and revitalizing the economy. Contrary to this national policy, public officials judged their future as unstable and took on new challenges.

Voluntary retirements in major economic ministries are on the rise. Comparing 2018 and last year, the Financial Services Commission increased from 6 to 13, and the Fair Trade Commission from 16 to 32. The National Tax Service (410→465), Ministry of Employment and Labor (185→197), and Ministry of Science and ICT (729→800) also saw increases. However, the Ministry of Economy and Finance slightly decreased from 35 to 31 during this period.

Experts say that the relocation to the Sejong Government Complex is not a reason for public officials' resignations. Even the Financial Services Commission, which is popular among public official applicants because it is located in Seoul, has seen an increase in resignations.

Public officials respond that the resignation of competent employees is a bigger problem than the scale of retirees. A representative case is the resignation of officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy who confronted Japan's export restrictions. Two section chiefs from the ministry who directly attended the first working-level meeting at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Tokyo in July 2019, when Japan began export restrictions on Korea, recently ended their public service careers. They were trusted by both seniors and juniors for their proactive work, but now have moved to domestic law firms and private companies respectively. A senior official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, "It is more regrettable that competent employees quit." He emphasized that it should not be viewed only by the number of retirees.

Despite increasing the number of national public officials by about 100,000 from 631,380 (May 2017) to 735,909 (end of last year) under the Moon Jae-in administration to resolve polarization and secure national momentum, voluntary retirements have not decreased. Considering the growing scale of major policies such as the national agenda encompassing related ministries' capabilities like Carbon Neutrality 2050 and the Korean New Deal, as well as each ministry's five-year basic plans, such personnel outflow is expected to pose a considerable burden on securing policy expertise.

The most certain way to prevent outflow is to expand the scope of the three-year post-retirement reemployment restriction, but experts advise against this as it may be unconstitutional and subject to constitutional challenges. Instead, they say the urgent task is to strengthen internal controls within ministries to manage lobbying activities that may cause conflicts of interest with the private sector and increase transparency. Strengthening internal controls to enhance transparency and establishing a system that maximizes policy autonomy for public officials during their tenure is advised. Professor Park Sang-in of Seoul National University's Graduate School of Public Administration said, "Among economic ministries, authorities with strong regulatory powers such as the Fair Trade Commission, Financial Services Commission, and Ministry of Economy and Finance are unlikely to be free from conflicts of interest before and after retirement, so it is necessary to strengthen internal controls and increase transparency by specifying punishment regulations for violations."

Within government circles, there is a growing voice to consider increasing incentives just before retirement. It takes a long time to reach senior executive service level (grade 2, director level) or higher, and many ministerial and vice-ministerial positions are filled by 'Eogong' (occasional public officials) from political circles or outside, so motivation to join the senior executive service by extending years of service is declining. A government official said, "In the past, pensions for senior public officials were calculated and paid based on three years before retirement, but now it is based on lifetime income. This leads to seeking departments where workload is light and promotion is easy to get promoted quickly, which inevitably blurs the enthusiasm and goals of major ministry officials to enter the senior executive service."

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