Jobs Through Young Eyes ②: 100,000 Soldiers? No—100,000 Civil Servants!

From the perspective of young people, the job market lately has truly been one long ordeal. Many young people complain of the frustration of walking through a tunnel with no visible exit, yet our government still has not produced effective countermeasures. It is simply pushing ahead with public sector-led job creation policies.

Not long ago, there was a report that the increase in the number of civil servants during the Moon Jae-in administration exceeded the total increase under the previous four administrations combined, that is, over roughly 20 years

(“100,000 More Civil Servants Under the Moon Administration… More Than the Previous 20 Years Combined,” JoongAng Ilbo).

At a superficial glance, it may seem as though the government is stepping in actively to resolve youth unemployment, and that government-led employment policy might be somewhat effective.

However, the expanded unemployment rate, which includes job seekers, has continued to rise. This shows that despite the sharp increase in the number of civil servants under the Moon Jae-in administration, hiring by private firms has continued to decline, worsening young people’s employment problems even further. It also suggests that, to solve youth unemployment, a more desirable answer is not to increase the number of civil servants but to encourage hiring by private companies.

Yet the Moon Jae-in administration appears to have no intention of changing course. Rather, if this trend continues, the total increase will likely exceed 100,000 by the end of the administration. In our nation’s 5,000-year history, there have been two cases in which someone advocated increasing the manpower of a specific group by 100,000. The first was Yulgok Yi I’s proposal to raise 100,000 troops in preparation for a Japanese invasion, and the second is the Moon Jae-in administration’s effective pursuit of a “100,000 civil servants” policy in response to the employment crisis. But unlike Yulgok Yi I’s proposal to raise 100,000 troops, the Moon Jae-in administration’s “100,000 civil servants” policy is truly alarming.

First, it creates an enormous financial burden. Already, more than half of Korea’s national debt consists of pension liabilities to be paid to retired civil servants and military personnel

(“Half of National Debt Is Pension Liabilities for Civil Servants and Military Personnel… ‘Reform Needed,’” Yonhap News TV).

If the number of civil servants is increased again in a context of persistently low birth rates and low growth, the scale of debt that future generations will have to repay will be truly staggering. In addition, this will reduce the country’s fiscal capacity for investment, thereby weakening future growth engines as well.

Moreover, the public sector is an area that must improve efficiency through numerous reforms and innovations in the years ahead. About three years ago, there was a case in which a public service worker from KAIST developed a work automation program that dramatically increased administrative efficiency

(“‘Six Months of Menial Work’ Finished in a Day… Administrative Revolution by a Social Service Worker,” The Dong-A Ilbo).

Afterward, our government reportedly recognized its importance and met with him to communicate. As this case clearly shows, the public sector can dramatically improve its work efficiency through innovation. Given that our government understands this well, it is quite strange that it is not thinking about retraining current personnel and raising their productivity, and is instead continuing only to increase the number of civil servants.

The government-led job expansion policy, which will only burden future generations, must now stop. Instead, the government should help private firms hire more through various support measures.

To that end, what is needed first is bold structural labor market reform. As recent backlash from the MZ generation has shown, the traditional seniority-based wage structure not only undermines workers’ motivation but also increases firms’ labor cost burdens. In place of the seniority-based system, the government should pursue various alternative policies such as job-based pay.

The government should set the example first. The current civil service rank system, divided into nine grades, has not changed since 1981. The rank system and organizational structure needed for a bureaucratic organization during the period of government-led industrialization do not fit the current situation, in which the government must support private firms and respond quickly to changing market conditions in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Through bold consolidation of ranks, organizational restructuring, wage structure reform, retraining, and efficiency improvements, the government should lead by example.

In addition, on the basis of a more agile organization, it should support business activity more actively. The COVID era brought us difficulties, but it also allowed us to once again appreciate the strength of our companies. Regulations should be eased and related infrastructure provided so that new technologies such as bio, autonomous vehicles, and AI can be used more actively. Traditional manufacturing, too, must be enabled to run again, through regular communication with firms and continued provision of the support they need.

If our companies can run again, employment too will be able to increase by a much greater margin, and young people’s employment difficulties can also be resolved. I hope the day comes soon when our society is no longer weighed down by the “100,000 civil servants” policy, and our companies are hiring 1 million people instead.

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Original title: 청년이 본 일자리 ②: 10만 양병설? 10만 공무원설!

Author: Jeong-hwan Jo

Date: 2021-05-27

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=free_opinion&pn=10&idx=23736