Cutting Civil Servants by 1% Annually... Yoon Government to Reduce 5% Over 5 Years (Comprehensive)

New Government Reports 'Personnel Management Plan' at Cabinet Meeting...Conducts Government-wide Organizational Diagnosis
Local Governments to Maintain This Year's Level for the Next 5 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The government has decided to reduce the national civil servant workforce by 1% annually per ministry, totaling 5% over five years. Currently, the total civil servant workforce stands at approximately 1,163,000, with about 750,000 at the national level and 380,000 at the local level. A 1% annual reduction equates to roughly 7,500 personnel, resulting in a total cut of 37,500 over five years. The reduced workforce will be reallocated to necessary ministries based on policy priorities. For local civil servants, the plan is to maintain the current standard staffing levels over the next five years but to reassign 1% annually, totaling 5% over five years.

On the 12th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety reported this plan, titled the ‘Government Workforce Management Plan,’ to the Cabinet meeting. The number of civil servants increased from about 978,000 during the Roh Moo-hyun administration to 990,000 under the Lee Myung-bak administration, then to 1,032,000 during the Park Geun-hye administration, and surged to 1,163,000 under the Moon Jae-in administration. The Yoon Suk-yeol administration has noted various issues, including significant burdens on the national budget and administrative inefficiencies, and thus plans to promote workforce efficiency across all government sectors, including general administration, police, education, and local government.

Han Chang-seop, Vice Minister, who briefed on the day, stated, "Due to continuous workforce increases, there have been significant burdens on the national budget and administrative inefficiencies, among other issues," adding, "In response to these concerns, the government will promote workforce efficiency across all sectors, including general administration, police, education, and local government."

According to the plan, all central ministries will undergo a cross-ministerial organizational diagnosis to review the appropriateness of government functions and workforce in response to environmental changes and to improve inefficiencies. Additionally, a ‘Integrated Utilization Workforce System’ will be introduced at the government-wide level, managing and utilizing workforce quotas as a shared pool. Each ministry will reduce its workforce by 1% annually, and the reduced workforce will be allocated to necessary ministries based on policy priorities. For example, if Ministry A (10 personnel), Agency B (15 personnel), and Committee C (5 personnel) reduce a total of 30 personnel due to regulatory reforms or function decline, these personnel will be reassigned to areas such as semiconductor development (20 personnel across 4 ministries) or COVID-19 small business support (10 personnel across 3 ministries).

Regarding the 1% reduction rate, Vice Minister Han said, "A similar system was operated during the Park Geun-hye administration," adding, "It applies to general and some specific positions," and "Political appointees and suspended officials are excluded. Approximately 1,500 to 2,000 additional personnel demands are expected."

For the police, when new personnel demands arise, adjustments and reallocations of existing personnel will be prioritized over increases. For educators, workforce management will be conducted efficiently according to a mid- to long-term teacher supply and demand plan established government-wide. Vice Minister Han explained, "Since there have been large-scale workforce increases in police and education, we will check whether the increased personnel are properly delivering services on the ground and adjust unnecessary personnel as needed," adding, "Expansion of investigative personnel will be separately discussed by the Police System Development Committee, so related personnel can be additionally supplemented."

At the local government level, joint public-private organizational diagnosis teams will be formed to conduct self-assessments, identify unnecessary functions and personnel, and promote organizational restructuring. Through a reassignment target management system, each local government will annually reassign 1% of its local civil servant workforce (totaling 5% over five years) to meet new demands for regional development and frontline public safety and welfare services.

To implement the responsible minister system and actively support the achievement of key projects in each agency, measures to expand organizational autonomy in each ministry will also be pursued. The ‘Ministerial Autonomous Organization System’ will be introduced, allowing ministers discretion to establish and operate necessary organizations for national tasks and core issues. Additionally, plans to enhance organizational management autonomy in each ministry will be prepared and implemented, including activating autonomous functional adjustments within existing organizational sizes, expanding the scope of workforce increases and rank adjustments through personnel cost savings, and more.

Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated, "Considering the global economic crisis and changes in the administrative environment, it is necessary to reflect on and review the current status of government functions and workforce management," adding, "Based on systematic organizational diagnosis, we will manage government organizations and personnel efficiently and stably."

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