"Urging Expansion of Weekly Working Hours to 40 Hours for Part-Time Public Officials"

The National Part-Time Civil Servants Labor Union (Chairperson Jeong Seong-hye) held a press conference at 2:50 PM on the 23rd in front of the National Assembly main gate with about 30 part-time civil servants gathered from across the country, urging the change of weekly working hours for part-time civil servants to 15-40 hours.

Chairperson Jeong Seong-hye stated, "Since the batch recruitment was suspended in 2018, the number of part-time civil servants (hereinafter referred to as 'recruited civil servants') has decreased from about 6,500 at the first appointment in 2014 to about 3,500 as of the end of 2023. The number dropped by about 100 from around 3,600 in 2022. The number is decreasing every year. According to a survey conducted in August 2024 targeting 777 union members, two-thirds of the total, most of those working 35 hours per week are performing full-time civil servant duties and working 21 hours of overtime weekly, effectively working 40 hours per week, but their pay and allowances are calculated proportionally based on the basic 35-hour workweek."

She continued, "The required years for promotion are also applied proportionally by hours, so working 12 months is calculated as 0.875 (35 hours/40 hours), which corresponds to 10 months and 15 days. The longer they work until retirement, the more they continuously suffer losses in pay and promotion every year. From the perspective of equal pay for equal work, it is necessary to increase the weekly working hours of recruited civil servants to 40 hours," she asserted.

Secretary-General Kim Hwang-woo said, "Article 93, Paragraph 6 of the Civil Service Appointment Rules by the Ministry of Personnel Management and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s ‘Integrated Guidelines for Local Government Personnel Affairs’ stipulate that the Minister of the Interior and Safety and the Minister of Personnel Management shall conduct a survey on grievances and obstacles related to part-time civil servants and may recommend improvements to the relevant local governments based on the survey results. However, since the first appointment of part-time civil servants in 2014, no government research has been conducted on the status and issues of the part-time civil servant system for 10 years." He added, "As a result of research conducted by the Part-Time Civil Servants Union in June, we will present the findings at the ‘National Assembly Forum on the Necessity of Expanding Working Hours for Part-Time Civil Servants to 40 Hours per Week.’ We hope this forum will lead to the improvement of the system."