The Korea Coast Guard has introduced the 'Accelerated Officer Candidate System,' which selects sergeant-ranked personnel, provides them with one year of training alongside officer candidates, and appoints them as lieutenants. This year, five individuals were selected for the first time under this system.
According to the Coast Guard on the 27th, these individuals were selected through a first evaluation at the regional headquarters level based on English proficiency, basic physical fitness, and personal achievements, followed by a second evaluation by an external professional organization, peer evaluations, and interviews. By affiliation, three are from the headquarters, one from a police station patrol vessel, and one from a substation.
Together with 20 other officer candidates, they received one year of training at the Korea Coast Guard Education Center to enhance leadership, command ability, and situational response skills, including training at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and are scheduled to be appointed as lieutenants in January 2026.
Generally, it takes an average of 5 years and 8 months to be promoted from sergeant to lieutenant, but these five individuals will be promoted in an average of 3 years and 5 months (as of January 2026).
In particular, Sergeant A from the headquarters, who was promoted to sergeant in July this year, is expected to be promoted to lieutenant in just about 1 year and 5 months. Sergeant B from the headquarters and Sergeant C from the Mokpo Heuksan Substation were also promoted in 2 years and 2 years and 10 months, respectively. The Coast Guard plans to gradually increase the number of selected personnel to 10 next year.
The Accelerated Officer Candidate System allows promotion based on work performance and capabilities, unlike evaluation-based promotions relying on service records or exam-based promotions assessing individual knowledge. It was implemented this year to broaden the path for capable personnel who started as patrol officers to advance to senior positions and to invigorate the organization.
The Coast Guard has also pursued various personnel innovations besides the Accelerated Officer Candidate System to improve organizational culture.
The minimum required service periods for promotion by rank have been reduced, shortening the time from patrol officer to commissioner from over 16 years to 11 years, a reduction of 5 years. Additionally, the reflection rate of service evaluations, which automatically accumulate with years of service and contribute to organizational rigidity, was reduced from 30% to 20%, and the exam-based promotion ratio for mid-level managers (chief inspectors) was lowered from 7:3 to 8:2.
Due to these personnel system improvements, the Coast Guard was selected as the top independent external agency in the Ministry of Personnel Management's 'Public Service Culture Innovation Practice Plan Level Diagnosis.'
Kim Jong-wook, Commissioner of the Korea Coast Guard, stated, "We are fostering young personnel equipped with field experience and expertise, and improving the personnel system to be performance- and capability-centered so that a proactive public service culture can be established."
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