Time-Selective Public Officials Union Urges Abolition of "Failed System"

Recruitment Suspended for Years,
Resignation Rate Reaches 39%

The National Time-Selective Public Officials Labor Union, affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and led by Chairwoman Jung Sunghye, held a press conference in front of the Blue House on January 20, calling for the complete abolition of the Time-Selective Recruitment Public Officials System.

The National Time-Selective Public Officials Labor Union (Siseonje Labor Union) held a press conference in front of the Blue House on the 20th, urging the abolition of the one-time system, the "Time-Selective Recruitment Public Officials System." Provided by Siseonje Labor Union.

The Time-Selective Recruitment Public Officials System was introduced in 2013 by the Park Geunhye administration under the banner of "creating quality jobs." However, group recruitment for local positions was suspended in 2018, and for national positions in 2020. In recent years, only one or two people per year have been appointed to fill vacancies.

According to data from the Ministry of Personnel Management and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, a total of 5,881 people were hired between 2014 and 2024, but as of the end of 2024, only 3,568 remain employed, indicating that about 39% have resigned. The number of hires, which stood at 1,450 in 2015, sharply declined after the mandatory 1% hiring requirement was abolished in 2018, with only two people hired in 2024.

The labor union argued that time-selective public officials perform the same work as full-time public officials, yet their pay and allowances are calculated proportionally to their working hours, and they face discrimination in terms of promotion periods, career recognition, and assignment of positions.

Based on the union’s field survey conducted last year, 171 local governments (77.7%), 29 central administrative agencies (60.4%), and 1,008 time-selective public officials (92.1%) expressed support for abolishing the system.

The union has held annual forums with National Assembly members and government officials since 2018 to demand improvements to the system, but stated that the government has repeatedly responded only with promises to "review" the matter. During the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee audit in October last year, Assemblywoman Park Junghyun (Daedeok District, Daejeon) pointed out, "Calls for system improvement have continued since the 20th National Assembly, but there have been no substantive measures." She urged Choi Dongseok, Minister of Personnel Management, to reconsider the system and submit supplementary measures.

Chairwoman Jung Sunghye emphasized, "The Time-Selective Recruitment Public Officials System should be completely abolished, and existing employees should be uniformly converted to full-time positions. Any system based on discrimination should not be improved, but abolished." On this day, the union delivered a letter to the Blue House urging for the abolition of the system.

Jung Sunghye, Chairwoman of the Fixed-Term Workers' Union (right), and Kim Jeongguk, Vice Chairman, are delivering a letter urging the abolition of the "Fixed-Term Public Servant Hiring System" to a Blue House official on the 20th. Provided by the Fixed-Term Workers' Union.