Hwang Woo-yeo "First Salary 1.87 Million Won... Urgent Need to Raise Lower-Level Public Officials' Pay and Improve Welfare"

"Expecting Rational Decisions from the Public Officials' Salary Committee"
"Young Public Officials' Departure Must Be Taken Seriously"

Hwang Woo-yeo, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, mentioned on the 22nd that the starting salary for a Grade 9 public official is 1.87 million won per month, emphasizing the need for adequate treatment of public servants. Chairman Hwang particularly stated that raising the wages and improving the welfare of lower-ranking public officials is urgent.

Hwang Woo-yeo, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 22nd. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

At the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Chairman Hwang said, "Public officials should be filled with the most competent, honest, and passionate individuals who serve the people, and the foundation for this is adequate treatment." He added, "Especially, raising the wages and improving the welfare of lower-ranking public officials is more urgent than anything else, so I hope the party and government work together. Also, since the Public Officials’ Salary Committee has started its activities, I expect a reasonable decision."

Chairman Hwang said, "The number of retirees among public officials with less than five years of service increased from 6,663 in 2019 to 13,321 in 2022," adding, "The main reasons for this outflow are excessive workload and malicious complaints compared to low wages." He continued, "The salary of a Grade 9 public official starts at 1.87 million won per month, while recently, the monthly salary of an Army sergeant has improved to 1.65 million won, including 400,000 won for asset formation." He emphasized, "Compared to the private sector, public officials’ salaries were at 83% as of 2022, and considering the recent inflation rate of about 3.5%, the salary increase of 2.5% might have had an impact."

He said, "It is serious that young public officials who became civil servants to serve the country are leaving," adding, "The weakening of public service competitiveness could eventually lead to a decline in national competitiveness." He then explained, "Singapore’s public service was extremely corrupt and incompetent in the 1950s. However, under Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, they introduced unprecedented compensation, strict punishment for corruption, rigorous selection, thorough performance evaluation, and a dismissal system, making it now one of the most honest and competent organizations in the world." He said, "This became the foundation for Singapore’s development, maintaining an excellent national system unmatched in the Asian region," and added, "In his final speech, Prime Minister Lee once again said that public officials’ salaries must be raised. He said that good treatment better than any company is necessary to attract good public officials."