Public Service Exam Candidates Prefer Local Government Positions Over National Ones: "The Closest Place to Home Is Best"

Civil service exam candidates prefer local government civil service exams that allow them to work in their hometowns.

Comprehensive education company Eduwill announced the results of a survey conducted on the 8th targeting 144 exam candidates active in its knowledge-sharing community, ‘Eduwill Jisik-in Gongmuwon’. When asked what they prioritize when choosing a job series, 83% chose ‘assignment to hometown’. Seventeen percent selected ‘high promotion potential’.

The exam candidates who participated in the survey left comments such as, “I have no desire for promotion. I want to live a life where I commute close to home and have my own time,” and “I heard that many people working outside their hometown eventually want to move back. Since there is an adjustment period for work, I want to work stably near my home.”

When asked whether they consider competition rates when choosing a job series, 75% answered that they would apply based on aptitude rather than competition rates. One exam candidate said, “Competition rates are beyond my control. I think choosing the job series that suits me best is the way to maintain a long career after passing. Instead of worrying about competition rates, I will study one more page.”

An official from the Eduwill Civil Service Exam Success Strategy Research Institute said, “Exam candidates tend to prefer local government positions over national ones. Since national positions do not guarantee where the assignment will be, unless there is a specific desired job, many candidates choose local government positions if the job series is the same.”