Police Administration Passers Face Unusual Mass Appointment Waiting... Successful Candidates 'Perplexed'

It has been revealed that the number of successful candidates in the recent recruitment for Grade 9 general administrative public officials under the National Police Agency is twice the expected required number. Nearly half of the successful candidates are unable to be appointed immediately and must wait. This excessive number of successful candidates is the first occurrence since the recruitment of police general administrative officials resumed in 2019.

Public service exam candidates studying at an academy in Noryangjin. Photo unrelated to the article [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the National Police Agency on the 7th, the expected vacancies for the '2023 National Police Agency Grade 9 Open Recruitment Administrative Positions' stand at 260. This is only 51.5% compared to the recently announced final number of successful candidates for the position, which is 505, by the Ministry of Personnel Management. This means that one out of every two successful candidates cannot be appointed immediately after passing.

The open recruitment for general administrative public officials under the National Police Agency was abolished in 2006 and resumed in 2019 after 13 years. The purpose was to assign administrative, support, and facility management tasks, previously performed by police officers, to general administrative officials so that more police officers could be deployed to security and investigation sites. Until last year, the difference between the final number of successful candidates and the expected vacancies was not significant. Last year, the final number of successful candidates was 427, which was similar to the expected vacancies of 426. In 2021 and 2020, the expected vacancies actually exceeded the final number of successful candidates. In 2021, the expected vacancies were 621, while the final successful candidates were 472; in 2020, the numbers were 566 and 437, respectively. In 2019, the first year after recruitment resumed, the number of successful candidates (376) was higher than the expected vacancies (288), but the difference was only about 76.6%, not as large as this year. Most candidates were able to be appointed at the scheduled time once they passed.

Notice of Possible Appointment Waiting Status Posted in the 2023 National Police Agency Level 9 Open Recruitment Candidate Appointment Document Submission Guide. [Source=National Police Agency]

However, this year’s notice to successful candidates included a phrase warning of the possibility of waiting for appointment, which had not been seen before. Whether a successful candidate is subject to waiting for appointment will only be known next month. Candidate A, a man in his 20s, said, "They must have made the announcement based on data, but I think they failed to predict the appropriate number of recruits and selected too many." Candidate B, a woman in her 20s, said, "There is talk among successful candidates that this might be related to the government’s policy of reducing the number of public officials."

The National Police Agency maintains that there was no error in demand forecasting. A National Police Agency official said, "I do not think the number prediction was wrong," and added, "Not appointing all at once but in batches is common in other ministries as well." The official further explained, "Last year, about 200 people gave up their appointments, and some quit after being assigned to local areas, so we recruited more this year."

The waiting period for appointment is not counted towards seniority, and even after appointment, promotions may be delayed compared to those appointed earlier. Candidate C said, "There is no precedent for this in police general administrative positions, so many successful candidates are expressing anxiety," and added, "The longer the appointment is delayed, the more anxious we will be waiting." Candidate B also said, "I feel anxious about how long the appointment will be postponed," and added, "In other job series, there are cases where appointment waiting lasts nearly a year, and I am afraid the police general administrative positions might face the same situation." Regarding this, a National Police Agency official said, "We will notify separately when the successful candidates excluded from the first appointment in November will be appointed," and added, "We are considering the maximum period to be until February next year, when the regular personnel appointments in the first half of the year take place."

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