Korean History Star Lecturer Claims on YouTube Channel
"Honor Not Given... Must Look at Jin Dae-je Case"
Jeon Han-gil, a 'star lecturer' in Korean history for civil servants, drew attention by claiming that "recently, civil servants are not given honor" and that public perception needs to be improved.
On the 28th, Jeon stated in a video titled "A Society That Mocks and Disregards Civil Servants" uploaded on his YouTube channel, "People should not think antagonistically toward civil servants but consider them as one," expressing this view.
"Many High-ranking Officials Head to Large Corporations... Because There Is No 'Honor'"
First, Jeon argued that even high-ranking officials are increasingly moving to private companies, saying, "This is because civil servants nowadays are not given 'honor'." He then mentioned Jin Dae-je, a former Minister of Information and Communication who was appointed during the Roh Moo-hyun administration after coming from Samsung Electronics.
Former Minister Jin is a legendary figure who created the semiconductor success story at Samsung Electronics and served as the general president before being appointed as Minister of Information and Communication in February 2003, at the launch of the Roh Moo-hyun administration, and served as the longest-serving minister until 2006.
Jeon said, "It was an incredible breakthrough to bring someone who was not a big bureaucrat in the public sector but the president of Samsung Electronics and make him a minister. The Roh Moo-hyun administration really did a great job," adding, "At that time, Korea's information and communication sector was tremendously upgraded."
He continued, "That is exactly what is needed. (Former Minister Jin) did not go to be a minister because of money but because of honor," and criticized, "But nowadays, something is wrong. Even university professors say they won't become lawmakers or ministers."
He also raised his voice, saying, "We need to recognize the honor of civil servants and bureaucrats, but recently, it is not recognized. If high-ranking officials all leave for large corporations, our country will collapse."
"Perception of Lower-ranking Officials Is Dire... Even Paying 1.5 Billion Won in Taxes, No Abuse of Power"
Jeon described the perception of lower-ranking officials as "at a dire level." He said, "If you ask firefighters or police officers, whom you usually think of as 'worthless,' to 'save me quickly,' wouldn't they think, 'You always curse civil servants, and now you want me to save you?' Which police officer would risk their life?"
He added, "People who abuse civil servants or start their sentences at government offices with 'I pay taxes' are rarely those who pay taxes properly," emphasizing, "Someone like me, who pays 1.5 billion won annually in taxes, never abuses power."
He stressed, "We need to change the perception of countless civil servants, including soldiers, police, firefighters, teachers, national and local officials. We must always think that civil servants are one with us."
In response, netizens commented, "I am preparing for the civil service exam. This is comforting," "It doesn't seem wrong," and "I hope society respects civil servants."
Teenagers Also Prefer Large Corporations... 3,064 Resign Within One Year
In fact, analyses show that the aversion to civil service is intensifying recently. According to the Social Survey by Statistics Korea on the 18th, among teenagers (ages 13-18), large corporations ranked first with 31.4% as the preferred occupation, far ahead of national institutions at 19.2%, which ranked second. This contrasts with 2013, ten years ago, when national institutions were first with 29.7%.
Especially, the departure of young civil servants is accelerating. According to the Government Employees Pension Service, in 2022, 3,064 civil servants who voluntarily resigned had less than one year of service. This is about double compared to 1,583 in 2020. Resignations among specific positions such as police, firefighters, and education officials are also increasing.
The reasons include not only traditional issues in the public sector such as low treatment, hierarchical organizational culture, and standardized work systems but also increasing cases of mental damage caused by high-intensity and malicious civil complaints, leading them to leave for other occupations.
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