Civil Servants Participating in National Projects to Receive Faster Promotions... Exceptional Incentives for Personnel Exchange

Legislative Notice for Amendment to Local Public Officials Appointment Decree

Benefits for Core Personnel Exchange and Civil Servants Dedicated to Private Companies

Promotion Period Reduced by Up to One Year

The promotion of civil servants participating in core projects, such as national policy projects, will be accelerated. This is part of efforts to revitalize personnel exchanges between central and local governments and to improve administrative efficiency.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on May 12, the "Amendment to the Local Public Officials Appointment Decree and Local Public Officials Performance Evaluation Rules," which includes these measures, has been announced for legislative notice until June 10.

This amendment is part of the "Task Force for Strengthening Public Service Competency" initiative announced by the Presidential Office. The main point is to provide exceptional incentives to those serving in newly established "core personnel exchange" positions for national projects or local issues, as well as to "civil servants dedicated to private companies" who assist with attracting regional investment, among other tasks.

First, the minimum required years for promotion will be shortened. If civil servants work in core personnel exchange positions or as civil servants dedicated to private companies, up to half of the duration of their service in those positions—within a maximum of one year—will be credited against the required period for promotion. Additionally, civil servants who serve for more than one year in these positions and achieve outstanding performance will be given the opportunity for "special promotion." The existing benefit, which allowed 100% reduction of the exchange period from the career calculation for "treatment official" status, previously applied only to personnel exchange participants, will now be extended to civil servants dedicated to private companies as well.

Concerns about disadvantages in performance evaluation and bonuses will be fundamentally eliminated. Personnel exchange participants will be evaluated separately from regular civil servants, and will be guaranteed at least a "Superior" rating in performance evaluations and at least an "A" grade for performance bonuses. A legal basis will also be established to allow the payment of special performance bonuses to top performers who receive the highest ratings.

The recruitment system has also been revised to secure outstanding talent. The open and career-competitive recruitment systems for local public officials have been significantly improved to better suit the times. To reduce the burden on test-takers and improve compatibility between recruitment exams, starting in 2027, the Korean History subject in the Grade 8 open competitive recruitment exam will be replaced with the "Korean History Proficiency Test (Level 3 or above)," the same as for the Grade 9 exam. In addition, for certain career-competitive recruitment exams where recent experience is important, a basis will be established to shorten the required experience by up to one year, and the scope of the outstanding talent recommendation recruitment system, currently limited to Grade 8 and below, will be expanded to include up to Grade 7 positions.

The threshold for economically disadvantaged youth to enter public service will also be lowered. "Self-reliant youth" and "youth with extended protection periods" will be newly added to the low-income group recruitment category for the Grade 9 open competitive exam. In addition, the qualification maintenance period required for recipients of basic livelihood support or single-parent family support will be reduced from two years to one year to strengthen practical support.

Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Hojoong stated, "This measure aims to provide exceptional incentives to civil servants participating in large-scale national projects through project-based personnel exchanges, thereby supporting more successful project implementation," adding, "We will continue to proactively improve the local personnel system to expand openness and enhance vitality in the public sector."

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