The government that said "Too high competition rate for Grade 9 is a problem" changed its stance after hitting the 'lowest' rate

This Year's Grade 9 Competition Rate 21.8 to 1... Lowest in 32 Years Since 1992
Wages, Welfare, and Treatment All Lagging, Popularity Declines
Government Said Last Year "Too High or Too Low Both Problematic"
This Year "Will Strive to Select Excellent Talent and Actively Recruit"

9th Grade Civil Service Exam Site
Photo by Ministry of Personnel Management

"The competition rate for civil service exams can be problematic if it is either too high or too low, and what matters most is the job competency of new recruits."

Last March, the Ministry of Personnel Management stated this while announcing the competition rate for the Grade 9 civil service exam. Last year's average competition rate was 22.8 to 1, a decrease compared to the previous year. The Ministry analyzed that the decline in the open recruitment exam competition rate was due to various factors such as the abolition of elective high school subjects and a decrease in the school-age population.

However, when the Grade 9 competition rate dropped to its lowest in 32 years this year, the government's stance changed. This year's competition rate was 21.8 to 1, a slight decrease from last year. Although not mentioned in the government press release, this year's competition rate marked the lowest point in 32 years since 1992, when it was 19.3 to 1.

The Ministry explained that they are implementing multifaceted measures to select outstanding talent, which forms the foundation for improving public services and strengthening government competitiveness, including ▲enhancing public service explanation and promotion ▲innovating public service culture ▲improving treatment for lower-level civil servants. To strengthen public service explanation and promotion, they plan to continue active recruitment activities such as the ‘Public Service Expo,’ which involved visiting universities and high schools nationwide. Additionally, to innovate public service culture, they will promote a horizontal organizational culture and strengthen communication skills and leadership training for managers. They also ‘highlighted’ that despite a 2.5% increase in civil servant salaries this year, the starting salary for Grade 9 civil servants was raised by 6%, improving the treatment of lower-level civil servants.

Last year, the Ministry also emphasized improving treatment, stating, "Regarding the decline in open recruitment exam competition rates, the government plans to devise multifaceted countermeasures to secure outstanding talent." They introduced survey results showing that despite the decrease in applicants, the expertise and planning skills of new recruits are gradually improving. In summary, last year they said, "While competition rates being too high or too low is problematic, we are making great efforts to secure outstanding talent and improve treatment, and even if the number of applicants decreases, good talent is entering." In contrast, this year the stance changed to, "We will actively secure outstanding talent for Grade 9, which forms the foundation of public service and administration, and promote treatment improvements and salary increases."

The popularity of Grade 9 civil servants remains strong. With 103,597 applicants competing for 4,749 positions, civil service remains a coveted career. However, it is an undeniable fact that the popularity of Grade 9 among the MZ generation is waning as civil servant salaries stagnate annually amid high inflation and the gap with private companies widens.

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