"Breaking the Civil Servant's Job Security"
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Former Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and 'third zone' presidential candidate Kim Dong-yeon has announced 'civil servant reform' as his first presidential campaign pledge. In line with the intention of 'breaking vested interests,' the comprehensive reform plan includes abolishing the lifetime employment guarantee for managerial civil servants and eliminating the Grade 5 Administrative Examination.
On the 26th, Kim held a press conference at the National Assembly and stated, "The first pledge for a new wave is to break the vested interests of civil servants," adding, "While I have practiced and strived for some civil servant reforms during my tenure in public office, many challenges remain unfinished." He announced a plan to drastically reduce the size of the public service, saying, "I will break the civil servants' iron rice bowl and create a flexible government." The plan involves dividing public officials into 'managerial' and 'professional' positions, abolishing the retirement age for managerial positions, and reducing the total number of civil servants by 20% by only replenishing half of the retired civil servants. He also pledged to eliminate public institutions that have fulfilled their purpose by applying the 'sunset clause' to public institutions.
The pledge also includes expanding opportunities for entering the civil service. Instead of the Grade 5 Administrative Examination, which will be abolished, the current nine-grade civil servant ranking system will be reduced to six grades, and Grade 5 positions will be filled through experienced hires and internal promotions. He also pledged to allocate a certain percentage of new hires at Grades 7 and 9 to socially disadvantaged groups. Kim declared, "I will reform the public personnel system and eradicate civil servant nepotism."
Additionally, to eliminate the 'public sector corruption cartel,' he promised to exclude former managerial civil servants from appointments as heads of public institutions and extend the restriction period on case acceptance by former judicial officials to eliminate preferential treatment in the judiciary. To prevent illegal lobbying, he proposed heavier penalties for corrupt civil servants and pledges to disclose employment and income information for senior civil servants for 10 years after retirement. Kim said, "I will eradicate the public sector corruption cartel and create a transparent fishbowl," adding, "I will eliminate the 'gwanpia' (bureaucratic mafia) and 'gongpia' (public sector mafia)."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
