Why have young Koreans become disillusioned with civil service jobs?

Students take a course to prepare for the civil service exam at an educational institution in Noryangjin, Seoul, in this file photo. Yonhap

Public sector's conservative culture turns off young job seekers

By Dong Sun-hwa

The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a huge blow to the job market in Korea, with numerous companies reducing job openings in order to stay afloat. According to a recent survey conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries, more than 42.1 percent of the top 500 companies in Korea said they have not mapped out recruitment plans for the first half of this year, while 7.9 percent said they have no hiring plans. The two major reasons are due to the global health crisis and a lack of what they view as suitable talent.

From a common-sense standpoint, more job seekers should flock to Noryangjin in western Seoul, a region packed with civil service exam crammers, to gain jobs in the government which provide employment stability and a fair working environment. However, a growing number of young people in Korea are losing interest in getting public sector jobs, as evidenced by a steady decline in the competition ratio for the civil service exam.

Data from the Ministry of Personnel Management (MPM) show that 165,524 people applied for this year's civil service exam, resulting in a competition rate of 29.2: 1, down from 35:1 in 2021 and 37.2:1 in 2020. The competition ratio had soared to 39.2:1 in 2019, 41:1 in 2018.

Pension reform critical factor

Although the popularity of another exam for higher-level civil service positions has not waned as much as that of the test for entry-level public servants, experts still believe that the craze for public service jobs is cooling down in Korea, with the so-called MZ generation favoring high-paying and more challenging jobs. The MZ generation is a term used to refer to Millennials (born between 1981 and 1995) and Generation Z (born between 1996 and 2005).

"Public service positions had long been one of the most-coveted jobs among young Koreans mainly because they could receive a sizable pension after retirement," Seol Dong-hoon, a professor of sociology at Jeonbuk National University, told The Korea Times. "But following the 2015 pension reforms, they can no longer enjoy the same benefit as their predecessors."

The pension reform in 2015 raised the eligibility age for the civil servant pension from 60 to 65 and increased the proportion of contributions from 7 percent of their salary to 9 percent. At the same time, payment rates decreased from 1.9 percent to 1.7 percent.

"Given that the annual salary of a civil servant is often smaller than that of other jobs, a decrease in the amount of pension is a critical hit for them," Seol explained. "It does make sense for jobseekers to prefer landing a job at large private companies that pay them more in a shorter period of time, although many of them lack job stability."

Noryangjin in Seoul is an area filled with civil service exam cram schools. Yonhap

The MPM's data reveal that the average annual salary of an entry-level public worker was about 20 million won ($16,000) as of 2020. But in the same year, the salary of an employee at a large private company, who graduated from a four-year college, was more than 33 million won, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

Against this backdrop, large private firms were picked as the most sought-after workplaces among Koreans aged between 13 and 34, according to a survey of 36,000 people conducted by Statistics Korea in 2021. This was the first time since 2006 that civil service jobs fell from first place in the annual survey on job preferences.

"Many of my friends gave up preparing for the civil service exams," said a woman in her mid-20s, who once thought about taking one of the tests. She ended up getting a job at a startup located in Seoul.

"It requires a lot of money and time to get ready for the test, but we cannot earn that much even if we pass it. I think many people my age also place self-development above stability. In my case, I want to run challenging and inspirational projects at open-minded companies, rather than performing repetitive tasks as a civil servant and falling into a rut."

She added that she wonders if the waning popularity of public servants is a positive sign.

"In my eyes, it looks like the number of quality jobs is decreasing, forcing young people to choose between bad and worse."

Turned off by stuffy work environment

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It seems that the MZ generation is also turned off by the conservative nature of the public sector.

"Public servants face a lot of restrictions when they work, as their actions can have a huge impact on private organizations," a civil servant surnamed Choi, whose career spans more than three decades, told The Korea Times.

"Thus, they often do not attempt to lead from the front, so that they would not be held liable for any faults. And people of the older generation are still dominating the public sector, so they frequently clash with young people, who have different perspectives and ideas. The former often criticizes the latter for taking less responsibility at work, while the latter complains that their seniors are way too old-fashioned."

Choi revealed that a legion of public workers, who passed the civil service exams after years of test-preparation, still chooses to quit their job only after a few months or years, because they feel this type of job is not a good fit for them.

"People of the older generation used to endure hardships in their workplaces without leaving, but the so-called MZ generation is different," she said. "They do not tolerate it. Instead, they search for career alternatives."

Echoing this sentiment, Professor Seol elaborated, "Since this behavior is seen in many other industry sectors, it can be thought of as one of the traits of the MZ generation."

According to the Government Employee Pension Service, 5,961 public servants aged 18 to 35 left their jobs in 2020, which is a remarkable increase from 4,375 in 2017. Local pollster Next Research also revealed that more than 40 percent of 380 public workers, who took part in its survey, said they are currently working with "incommunicable" bosses who never listen to them.

Broken work-life balance

People who passed the written test of a civil service exam wait for their interview. Korea Times file

Civil servants have long been perceived as having a better work-life balance than most, but this no longer appears to be true. According to Next Research's data, only 40 percent of civil servants said they have a fair work-life balance, with more than 36 percent of the workers considering switching jobs due to a heavy workload.

"People these days have higher expectations of the government and want to receive more sophisticated and convenient public services," Choi said. "But civil servants have a lot on their plates because of the virus epidemic, as they have to carry on with their work while managing people who are self-quarantining and also support health workers."

Most people, however, are not aware of their difficulties, she added.

"A lot of people in Korea say the number of public workers should be cut in half because we are doing nothing," she said. "I personally do not recommend my job to anyone, not only because it is low-paying, but also because nobody actually gives us credit for what we are doing."