Net Pay '1.68 Million Won'... "Tiny Wages, MZ Public Officials Are Leaving"

'Actual Take-Home Pay' Lower Than Minimum Wage... Seogongno "It's Devastating"
No Work-Life Balance and Tough Conditions but Low Wages... Young Public Officials Leaving

Students are climbing the hill in front of the academy signs in the Noryangjin academy district, Dongjak-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Culture Young Intern Reporter] The Seoul Metropolitan Government Employees' Union (Seogongno) has disclosed a pay slip showing that the net salary of a Grade 9 Seoul city official is 1.68 million KRW and demanded a reasonable level of wage increase.

According to Seogongno on the 29th, the net salary for a newly hired Grade 9, Step 1 Seoul city official this month (August) is 1.68 million KRW. Although the total payment amount slightly exceeds 2 million KRW, after deducting taxes, health insurance premiums, and contributions, the net payment is in the 1.6 million KRW range. This amount falls far short of the monthly wage of 1,914,440 KRW earned by workers receiving the minimum wage of 9,160 KRW per hour.

The situation is no different for other steps. The net salary for Grade 7, Step 1 (equivalent to Grade 9, Step 3) is 1.75 million KRW, which is 70,000 KRW higher than Grade 9, Step 1. Seogongno criticized this as a "pitiful level" and questioned, "How are lower-level public officials in this country supposed to live?"

◆ Unable to Reflect Inflation... Rather Quit

The public officials' union points out that current public servant salaries do not reflect the inflation rate. Seogongno stated, "This year's inflation rate is expected to exceed 5%, and next year's minimum wage will increase by 5% from this year, rising from 9,160 KRW to 9,620 KRW. In this situation, the government is negotiating next year's public servant salary increase at around 1%." They added, "We will continue our struggle until next year's public servant salary increase rate is decided at a reasonable level."

Some argue that although the base salary is low, public officials receive a lot through allowances. In response, Seogongno said, "It overlooks that 20-30% of the salary is deducted for taxes and public charges," and "Due to the illusion that the average public servant salary is high, there is less attention to the low wages of lower-level public officials." Currently, the National Government Employees' Union (Jeongongno) is demanding a 7% salary increase from the government, anticipating continued inflation.

On the 8th, near the Presidential Office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, officials affiliated with the National Public Officials Labor Union held a press conference urging a 7% wage increase for 2023 and a halt to the reduction of public officials./Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

In the past, public officials were perceived as stable jobs with guaranteed retirement, making them popular. However, recently, the outflow of young public officials has accelerated. Last year, 10,693 public officials with less than five years of service left the public sector, with 81% of them being in their 20s and 30s. According to the Public Officials Pension Service, among 60,773 newly hired 20s and 30s in 2020, 8,142 (13.4%) retired. This is about a 30% increase compared to 5,761 retirees in 2018. The public officials' union said, "Due to no work-life balance and tough labor with meager wages, resignations among Grade 8-9 MZ generation public officials are increasing."

The competition rate has been declining every year. According to the Ministry of Personnel Management, this year's competition rate for Grade 9 national public officials was 29.2 to 1. After recording 93 to 1 in 2011, it has been declining annually, marking the lowest rate in 30 years. The competition rate for Grade 7 public officials was also 42.7 to 1, the lowest in 43 years. The government attributes the decline in competition rates to a combination of the decreasing population of the 20s and 30s generation and the reform of the public officials' pension system. However, young public officials say that despite the overall rise in living costs due to high inflation, the main cause is still low wages.

Recently, the Ministry of Personnel Management reportedly proposed a 1.7-2.9% salary increase rate for public officials next year. At the National Fiscal Strategy Meeting held last month, the government also announced its policy to minimize next year's public servant salary increase. In response, public officials said, "We are not asking for private sector-level wages. It is necessary to realize a level that allows for a livable standard."