Government Selects 24 Positions for 'Strategic Personnel Exchange'... Allowances and Promotion Benefits Granted

Key Ministry Directors and Section Chiefs Exchange Positions
Goal to Complete Within This Month... Plans for Continuous Expansion
Early Promotion Benefits to Develop Core Talents

President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering a Lunar New Year greeting message with the Presidential Office choir "Warm Hands" at Jeonghyeon Hall on the first floor of the Yongsan Presidential Office in Seoul on the 4th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The government, following President Yoon Seok-yeol's directive, will implement personnel exchanges for key national and division chief positions across ministries. A total of 24 positions, including those in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Environment, have been selected. Substantial increases in allowances and incentives such as early promotion opportunities will be provided to those participating in the personnel exchanges.

On the 12th, the Office for Government Policy Coordination and the Ministry of Personnel Management announced the selection of 24 positions for 'strategic personnel exchanges' to break down silos between ministries and realize collaborative administration. This personnel exchange is a follow-up measure to President Yoon's directive to strengthen inter-ministerial cooperation systems.

The government selected fields where urgent public performance is needed and inter-ministerial collaboration is essential, aiming to generate mutual effects through personnel exchanges. Considering the proportion of common collaborative tasks within each ministry's responsibilities, they plan to appropriately allocate 10 director-level and 14 division chief-level positions to enhance effectiveness.

At the director level, personnel exchanges will occur between the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Director of Land Policy and the Ministry of Environment's Director of Nature Conservation, the Ministry of Science and ICT's Director of Software Policy and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Director of Public Services, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's Head of the Free Economic Zone Planning Division and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' Head of the Special Zone Innovation Planning Division, the Ministry of Economy and Finance's Director of Policy Coordination Planning and the Ministry of Science and ICT's Director of Performance Evaluation Policy, and between the Office for Government Policy Coordination's Director of Development Cooperation Support and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Director in charge of Development Cooperation.

(Data provided by the Office for Government Policy Coordination)

At the division chief level, personnel exchanges will take place between the Ministry of Economy and Finance's Head of Development Projects and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Head of Development Strategy, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' Head of Marine Leisure Tourism and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's Head of Domestic Tourism Promotion, the Ministry of Education's Head of Industry-Academia Cooperation and Startup Support and the Ministry of Science and ICT's Head of Research Industry Promotion, the Ministry of Education's Head of Secondary Vocational Education Policy and the Ministry of Employment and Labor's Head of Vocational Competency Evaluation, the Ministry of National Defense's Head of Defense Job Policy and the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs' Head of Veterans Job Support, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' Head of Livestock Hygiene and Quality Team and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's Head of Agricultural and Fishery Product Safety Policy, and the Korea Communications Commission's Head of Digital User Base and the Personal Information Protection Commission's Head of Dispute Mediation will each swap positions.

The confirmed positions will undergo swift procedures for selecting exchange candidates, aiming to complete the process within this month. The government plans to continuously discover and expand exchange positions in fields requiring collaboration based on discussions from public livelihood forums.

Bang Gi-seon, Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination Photo by Yonhap News

To ensure that this personnel exchange is not a one-time event but leads to tangible results felt by the public, the government has decided to provide exceptional personnel incentives to strategic personnel exchangers.

For strategic personnel exchangers, exchange allowances will be significantly increased, and if performance is excellent, a special performance bonus (50% additional for S grade) will be granted. Accordingly, director-level exchange allowances are expected to rise from the current 800,000 KRW to up to 1,500,000 KRW, and division chief-level (Grade 3) from 700,000 KRW to up to 1,200,000 KRW.

Those with exchange experience will be given early promotion opportunities by shortening the minimum service period required for promotion from Grade 4 to senior public official. Additionally, their preferred positions upon return will be actively reflected to nurture them as core talents.

Besides strategic personnel exchanges, the government will set focused personnel exchange fields in areas requiring mutual expertise and collaboration between ministries or common job fields such as personnel and legislation, which require understanding of the field, and will expand personnel exchanges across all ranks by more than 10% compared to the previous year.

Kim Seung-ho, head of the Ministry of Personnel Management, said, "We will actively support strategic personnel exchangers by granting bold personnel privileges and reflecting them in individual evaluations to ensure that exchanges produce tangible results. We will also foster a collaborative mindset among all public officials, so they internalize the identity of being 'public officials of the Republic of Korea' rather than belonging to a specific ministry."

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