"Public Officials' Wage Commission Lacking Bargaining Power Must Improve Public Officials' Treatment Through Legislation"

Assemblyman Kim Gyoheung Proposes Bill for 'Improving Civil Servants' Treatment and Realizing Salary Adjustments'

Kim Gyo-heung, a member of the Democratic Party and chairman of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, announced on the 6th that he has introduced a bill on the establishment and operation of the Civil Servant Compensation Committee to improve the treatment of lower-level public officials.

The bill proposed by Representative Kim aims to legally stipulate the regulations of the Civil Servant Compensation Committee, which have so far been only an internal directive of the Ministry of Personnel Management, thereby imposing an obligation to implement labor-government wage agreements. The Civil Servant Compensation Committee, established in 2019 following government negotiations, was created to deliberate on the formulation of civil servant compensation policies and improvement of working conditions, but it has failed to function as an effective wage negotiation body. This is because even when the government and labor unions reach difficult agreements, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance has refused to implement them citing budgetary issues.

Accordingly, Representative Kim’s bill establishes the Civil Servant Compensation Committee under the Prime Minister, tasked with deliberating and deciding on matters related to the level and rate of increase of salaries paid to civil servants. The committee will consist of 27 members appointed by the Prime Minister: 9 representatives of civil servants, 9 representatives from the national and local governments, and 9 members representing the public interest. Furthermore, when deliberating and deciding, the committee must consider the living expenses necessary for civil servants to diligently perform their duties, inflation levels, and wage levels in private companies. The compensation plans deliberated and decided by the committee must be promptly reflected in the next year’s relevant budget and amendments to laws related to civil servant compensation, thereby imposing an obligation to implement them.

Representative Kim stated, "Civil servants and the public service, who undertake all the difficult tasks of the country, are facing a crisis due to low wages and excessive workloads. In particular, the avoidance of public service among lower-level employees is severe. Last year alone, more than 13,000 civil servants resigned without completing five years of service after becoming public officials."

He added, "The salary for a Level 9, Step 1 civil servant next year is 1,815,070 KRW, which is not only below the standard living cost of 2,630,000 KRW for a single-person household but also below next year’s minimum wage of 2,060,740 KRW. Through the legalization of the Civil Servant Compensation Committee, we will do our utmost to improve the treatment of civil servants who dedicate themselves to the nation and to realize a realistic wage system."

The day before, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions-affiliated Civil Servants’ Union Federation, Teachers’ Union Federation, National Postal Workers’ Union, and National Police Workplace Council held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall, urging the enactment of the Civil Servant Compensation Committee Act. They criticized the current Civil Servant Compensation Committee as "a mere facade that thoroughly infringes and violates the basic labor rights of civil servants, teachers, firefighters, police officers, and public sector workers," and called for its elevation and reorganization into a social consultation and agreement body through legislation.

They further emphasized, "The enactment of this bill is the only way to ensure the livelihood stability of 1.3 million civil servants and teachers, and ultimately 3 million public sector workers, to reform the wage structure that the government has unilaterally decided and passively accepted until now, and to sustain and improve the public nature of the public sector and the quality of public services for the people."

Kim Hyun-jin, chairman of the Civil Servants’ Union, pointed out, "The existing Civil Servant Compensation Committee is merely a simple advisory body established by an internal directive of the Ministry of Personnel Management. Unlike the private sector, where working conditions such as wages are decided through negotiations with employers, the existing committee lacks legal binding power, forcing civil servants to passively accept wages unilaterally decided by the government."

He added, "The enactment of the Civil Servant Compensation Committee Act is absolutely necessary to attract competent personnel to public service, enable the national and local governments to implement quality policies, and provide high-quality administrative services to the public."