Human Resource Management

in Government:
The Case of the Republic of Korea

International Roundtable on Civil Service Legislation,

Systems and Reforms
Hotel Bumikarsa in Bidakara Jakarta on March 17, 2009

Pan Suk Kim, Ph.D.

Director & Professor of Public Administration
Institute for Regional Studies and Development
College of Government and Business
YONSEI UNIVERSITY, South Korea 220-710
E-mail: pankim@yonsei.ac.kr or pankim@gmail.com
 Contents

1. Korea at a Glance

2. HRM Agency, Civil Service Law, and

Civil Service Systems

3. Civil Service Reform

4. Other Related Reforms

5. Lessons Learned
1
1. Korea at a Glance

2
 Republic of Korea:
9 + 7 provincial-level governments

3
 Structural Layers of Government
Central Government
Top (Ministry of Public Administration and Security)
(Central) (MoPAS)

Middle 1 Special Metropolitan City

(Provincial- 6 Metropolitan Cities
Level) 9 Provinces (Do)

77 Cities (Si)
Bottom 86 Counties (Kun)
(Municipal 69 Autonomous Districts (Jachi Ku)
Level) 26 Districts (Ilban Ku)
3,588 Town/Village (Eup, Myon, Dong)
4
National Assembly and Political Parties
• National Assembly; unicameral system:
299 seats (245+54); 4-year term (women:
41)‫‏‬
– Grand National Party: 180 (60%)‫‏‬
(increased from 129)‫‏‬
– Democratic Party: 81 (27%)‫‏‬
(significantly reduced)‫‏‬
– Liberal Forward Party: 18
– Democratic Labor Party: 5
– Creative Korea Party: 3
– Independent: 12 5
 President

State Council

The President: Office of the President

Prime Minister
Organs assisting President

Lee, Myung-Bak Office of Prime Minister Organs assisting P.M

Ministries

 The Head of the State Administrations

 The Head of the Executive Branch

 The Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces
 The Leader of the Ruling Party
 5-Year Single Term (2008.2--2013.2):
 Presidential Election: December 2007, 2012
Office of the President
 Presidential Secretariat
 Presidential Security Service
6
Reorganized in March 2008

7
2. HRM Agency, Civil Service
Law and HR Systems

8
Ministry of Public Administration and Security (MoPAS)
http://www.mopas.go.kr

9
Legal Frameworks: Comparison
Country Related Laws

Korea National Civil Service Act (1949)

Local Civil Service Act (1963)
Japan National Civil Service Act (1947)
Local Civil Service Act (1950)
China Ordinance of the Civil Service: 1993 
Promulgated the Civil Servant Law: 2005
(effective in 2006)
Vietnam Ordinance of the Civil Servants and State
Employees (1998)  Promulgated the Civil
Service Law in 2008 (Effective in 2010)
 China Japan Korea Vietnam
Civil Servant Law National Civil National Civil Civil Service Law
Service Act Service Act
1. General Provisions 1. General Provisions 1. General Provisions 1 General Provisions

2. Qualifications, 2. Central Personnel 2. Central Personnel 2. Rights, Obligations and

Obligation & Rights of Management Agencies Management Agencies Responsibilities of Civil Servants
Civil Servants
3. Standards for Government 3. Classification System of 3. State Management of Civil
3. Positions and Ranks Positions Position Servants
4. Recruitment 3-1. General Rules 4. Appointment and
5. Appraisal 3-2. Position Classification Examination 4. Election, Recruitment, Utilization
6. Appointment and 3-3. Examination, 5. Remuneration and Management of Civil Servants
Removal Appointment and Dismissal 6. Efficiency (appraisal, 4-1. Election
7. Promotion and Demotion 3-4. Remuneration training, reward) 4-2. Recruitment
8. Awards 3-5. Efficiency (appraisal and 7. Service (obligations and 4-3. Classification of Civil Servants
9. Disciplinary Action improving training programs) restrictions) and Regulations on Grades of Civil
10. Training 3-6. Change in Employment Servants
11. Transfer and Avoidance Status, Disciplinary Action and 8. Guarantee of Status 4-4. Training and Upgrading
12. Salary, Benefits and Guarantee 4-5. Transference, Rotation,
Insurance 3-7. Service Discipline 9. Guarantee of Rights and Secondment, Appointment, Removal
13. Resignation and (obligations and restrictions) Interests from Position, Resignation
Dismissal 3-8. Retirement Pension 4-6. Civil Servant Appraisal
14. Retirement System 10. Discipline 4-7. Termination, Retirement and
15. Appeals and Complaints 3-9. Employee Organization Extension of Working Time beyond
11. Penal Provisions Retirement Age
16. Employment by Contract 4. Penal Provisions
12. Supplementary Provisions 5. Conditions for the Civil Service
17. Legal Liabilities Operation
6. Civil Service Inspection
18. Supplementary 7. Rewards and Disciplinary Actions
Provisions 8. Enforcement Provisions
Approach: Balanced or Skewed?
Positive vs. Negative

Dos vs. Don’ts

Reward vs. Penalty

Assistance vs. Discipline

Rights vs. Obligations (Duties)

Career vs. Position-Based System
Career-Based System Position-Based System

Belgium Australia
Germany Finland
Ireland Netherlands
Japan Ne w Zealand
Korea Sweden
Luxembourg Switzerland
Mexico UK
Portugal USA
Spain
* Open to external recruitment
* Recruited at lower levels and and direct applications to the
move up in their career . specific post.
 Grading of the Korean Civil Service
Political
Appointees:
 Vertical Classification Ministers and
Deputy Ministers
Grade 1 Assistant Secretary
SCS
Grade 2 Director General
Grade 3 (DG)
Grade 4 Division Director
Grade 5 Deputy Director Japan
Grade 6
Grade 7 Supporting
Grade 8 Officer
Grade 9
14
The Scope of the Civil Service Law?

The Ruling
Party

The
The Legislative
Executive
Body
Body

Who are
Civil Servants?
The Judiciary Local
Body Governments

State-Owned
Enterprises &
Public Bodies
 Workforce in the Executive Branch
as of June 30 2007
• Total Employees in the Executive Branch: 947,552 persons

• Number of Central Government Employees: 600,502

(63.4 %) including education (346,133), law enforcement
(126,698), general service (94,429), and others (33,242)

• Number of Local Government Employees:

347,050 (36.6 %) Large
or
• Total Population: 48 million (estimated 2008)
Small?
• Ratio of Population/Gov’t Employees = 51 : 1

16
 Compensation: Annual Salary of
Government Executives (Unit: Korean 1000 Won)

President 168,671
Prime Minister 130,761
Chair of the Board of Audit 98,927
and Inspection (BAI)
Minister or Minister-Level 96,155
Deputy Minister or 93,382
Deputy Minister Level
(MPs)
17
US President = $400,000 per year (it was $200,000 in 1969-2001), US Vice President (2005) = 208,100,
Speaker of the House = 208,100, US Senate/House = 162,100
 Pension for Civil Servants
Contribution Pension
from Fund Management:
Civil Servants Investment and
(8.5% of Service Delivery
monthly pay)
17 % of
monthly salary Promulgated the Law on
Payment is accumulated Civil Servants’ Pension
from National or in 1960
Local Governments
(8.5% of
monthly pay) * This rate was increased
several times over the years
3. Civil Service Reform

19
 Civil Service Reform Vision

Low expertise
due to frequent Expertise Openness Fairness
rotation

New High
Old
System
Civil Service System Competitive-
edge

Lack of
Accountability Closed Autonomy Accountability
& System
Responsiveness &
Rigidity 20
 Major Civil Service Reform Tasks

Management System
 Centralized  Decentralized
Autonomy and choice

 Closed  Open
Recruitment Method
 Right person in right position (FIT)

 Generalist  Specialized generalist

High Quality Workforce
Competency with good leadership

Performance Management  Seniority-based  Performance-

based

Government Culture  Hierarchical, one-way communication

 innovative & proactive, two-ways
21
 Improvement of Recruitment Methods
• Open/Competitive Recruitment Examination
 Exam for Grade 5 ( Fast Track): 3 rounds
• (1) Public Service Aptitude Test (PSAT) +
• (2) Essay Test +
(3) Interview (intensive interview including
structured blind interview): what did you do?
• The PSAT consists of 3 parts:
the Linguistic and Logical Ability Test
the Data Interpretation Ability Test, and
the Circumstantial Judgment Ability Test
 Exam for Grade 7 – technical level
 Exam for Grade 9 – entry level
* Transformation from KSA Model to KSAV Model
22
 Open Position System:
External Competitive Recruitment
- Past: Closed personnel system
 Vacancies were filled mostly through
internal promotion

• - Now : More open system to the private sector

 Many senior positions are now occupied by outside experts.
 External experts are encouraged to be employed.

10/19/08 23
 Job Posting System:
Government-wide Recruitment
• - Vacant positions are posted for recruitment from
• entire civil service, not just from the relevant Ministry.
• - All eligible civil servant is encouraged to apply for the
• posted position.
• - Applicants are interviewed by
the selection committee.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Participating
Ministries 4 5 29 35 43

Number of Jobs
Posted 5 13 234 246 1,139
24
 Senior Civil Service
(Effective on July 1, 2006)
 Expanded System by open competitions
Staffing - (e.g.) Open Position System + Job Posting
System + Agency Flexibility

Core  Prospective senior managers : Successful completion of

Qualification SCS Candidate Development Programs and Certification
of Competence
Past Today

Grade1
Screen Candidates
Grade2 From private Senior Civil Service
Screen Screen sector Screen
Grade3
Screen Screen
Grade4 Division Directors

25
 SCS’s‫‏‬Pay Scheme
 Differentiated pay scheme based on difficulty and
Job and importance of the job and position
Performance
 Continuous extension of performance-related pay
related Pay
- increased portion of performance-related pay (PRP)

【Annual Salary】

Maximum
Accrues to the next
year’s‫‏‬base‫‏‬pay

SCS
2 1
4 3
5

Minimum
【Base Pay】 + 【Job Pay】 + 【Performance Pay】

26
Performance Appraisal for Higher-Levels:
Performance Agreement

27
Performance Appraisal for Mid- and Low-level
Officials
• Job performance:
- job difficulties
- completeness
- timeliness, etc...

• Job-fulfilling abilities:
- planning
- communication
- cooperation
- customer-orientation, etc...
 PRP Schemes
Performance-Related
Contents
Pay (PRP) Schemes
Yearly stipend system; applied to
director-general and above;
Annual Merit
and increased variable
Increment Program
proportion of pay is added to
(AMIP)
the fixed portion of the
following year

Performance
Lump sum bonus; and applied to
Bonus Program
division director and below
(PBP)
 SCS’s Performance-Related Pay Frame:
Annual Merit Incremental Program

Excell- Outstan Normal Unsatis-

Appraisal
ent -ding Factory
Grade
(Grade S)‫( ‏‬Grade A)‫( ‏‬Grade B)‫( ‏‬Grade C)‫‏‬

Payment Top Bottom

30% 40%
Scope 20% 10%

Performance
15% 10% 5% 0%
Pay Rate

Ideal vs. Reality 30

(Textbook vs. Field)‫‏‬
 Utilization of Performance Records:
Toward more performance-based employment practice?
Accumulation of record
Performance Application
Information of record

Annual Individual
Performance Performance Recommendation
Appraisal &
Record File
Nomination
Policy
Appraisal

Competency Personnel Policy

Appraisal Data for
Support System
promotion

Audit Result

Data for
Press Coverage HR Database Career-
for development
Co-worker Public Service and training
interview
Establishment of HR Database

32
One-stop Portal for Civil Service Entrance Examinations: http://www.gosi.go.kr
 Competency Assessment and
Leadership Development
• Horizontal Dimension: Comparison
Communication
• American SES: Core
Customer Orientation Qualifications (ECQs)‫‏‬
- ECQ 1: Leading Change
• Vertical Dimension: - ECQ 2: Leading People
Vision - ECQ 3: Results Driven
Coordination & Integration - ECQ 4: Business Acumen
- ECQ 5: Building Coalitions
• Working:
Result Orientation • British SCS: Leadership
Professionalism Qualities for the SCS
Innovation

• Thinking:
Cognitive Comprehension
Strategic Thinking
33
 HRD Innovation
Better Training and Development
 * The performance of the training institutes has been improving
Central Officials Training Institute (COTI)

34
 Personal Capacity Building: Leadership Development

How many
hours per
Executive year?
Development
Up to 100 hrs?
Course
(EDC) In what ways?
Business Management
Course (BMC)

Manager Development Course

(MDC)

Advanced Manager Course (AMC)

Who: Experienced managers currently with or new to GE, and with direct reports

New Manager Development Course (NMDC)

Who: Newly appointed managers with direct reports

Foundations of Leadership (FoL)

Who: High potential individual contributors with peer leadership responsibilities

35
•New Competencies: coordination/collaboration, integration, conflict resolution, tolerance
for diversity and ambiguity, persuasive leadership, external awareness, political savvy……..
4. Other Related Reforms

36
 Innovation of Presidential Personnel for
Political Appointees
• The office in charge of political appointments should
SELECT the best candidates for vacant executive
positions  need institutionalization of presidential
personnel

• The President/the Prime Minister must GUIDE them to get

policies implemented  Political appointees need to
develop their competency in taking HRD or orientation
programs  Provide HRD (training/workshop/seminar,
references, guidebooks) otherwise, they may fail

• Furthermore, a performance EVALUATION system for

political appointees should be developed for their self-
discovery and professional development
 Political Appointment Innovation
• Established the Office of Secretary to the President for Personnel Affairs i
n the Office of the President (www.cwd.go.kr)
Vacancy Identify candidates
Candidates don’t apply

Candidates apply: Systemization

Screen candidates against criteria Screening:

Expertise,
Candidates drop out Financial
Disclosure,
Morality,
Select/Nominate appointee Integrity,
Candidates decline Conflict of
Interest....

Execute Hearing process for cabinet members)‫‏‬

Candidates drop out

38
Position filled Appoint appointee
 Personnel Screening for Political Appointees: Ethical Leadership

(1) Process-based Personnel Screening: start from financial disclosure

Recommendation Screening Hearing Appoint

(Cabinet Members)‫‏‬

Expertise Morality, Integrity, Expertise, Morality

Competency Conflict of Interest Conflict of Interest
Real Estate
Speculation?
Plagiarism?

(2) Content-based Personnel Screening

Competency Task capability: positive factors

Personnel Morality Morality, Integrity: negative factors

Screening Conflict of Interest Conflict of Interest
Political Screening Political career, orientation, etc
Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission (ACRC)
1981: Promulgated the Public Service Ethics Act
2001: Promulgated the Anti-Corruption Act
2002: Established the Korea Independent Commission Against
Corruption (KICAC)
2008: Consolidated 3 agencies: KICAC with the Ombudsman
and the Administrative Appeals Commission

Corruption = Monopoly + Discretion –

Accountability – Transparency –
Compensation 40
5. Lessons Learned

41
 The State of the Civil Service
• Past: HR systems have been different in the public
and private sectors

• Present and Future: Move towards “Normalization”

• “Normalization” means a process where

employment procedures and conditions gradually
become more like those existing in the private
sector  HRM in government and business
becomes similar!

• This process is sometime called “flexbilization.”

What Does Normalization Mean?
• A shift from statutory  to contractual or
managerial governance of the employment
conditions

• A career-orientation can be gradually

replaced by a position-orientation

• Positions above the entry level can be

opened up for external recruitment

• Pay differentials between different skills,

tasks and workplaces tend to increase
Question: How to get there?
(1) Jumping to the top? or (2) Climbing up the ladder?