The Balanced Civil Service Employment System for the Social Minorities(BCSECSM)
Ministry of Security and Public Administration

A. Problem Analysis

 1. What was the problem before the implementation of the initiative?
Government employees serve for the entire public, and they perform various and complicated administrative tasks. As youth unemployment rate is on the rise due to economic recession, people are more drawn to civil servant because its recruiting process is well known for fairness and transparency without any discrimination. In Korea, the principles of civil servant employment are capacity and merits of the candidates. Based on these, Korean government is operating open competitive examination for recruitment of Grade 5, 7 and 9. Starting in 1973, academic degree was removed and the age-cap was also eliminated in 2008. The employment decisions are purely based on the exam scores, not someone’s connections or other backgrounds. However, recruitment through it, while its sole focus on capacity has its pros, may put at a disadvantage the social minorities who may not be able to afford time dedicated to exam preparation. Not to mention, balanced employment across social classes is a foundation for building a fair society in that it ensures equal opportunity for social minorities. Against this backdrop, it is critical to represent various social minorities, including women, the disabled, the poor and North Korean defectors, in civil service so that they may participate in policy making process. Otherwise, public administration may lose representativeness and responsiveness. So the Ministry of Security and Public Administration(MOSPA) of the Republic of Korea started seeking ways to give opportunity to diverse social minorities. As women’s advancement into society was still difficult in the 1990s, MOSPA introduced a new system for women in 1996 to hire additional women when female to male gender ratio of successful applicants is smaller than one to ten. The ratio was adjusted later to 20%. At some point, concerns were raised about reverse discrimination against men, as some recruitment areas saw few successful male applicants. In 2003, the policy was evolved to a gender equality employment target system for both women and men, under which representation by either gender should not be less than 30% of all successful applicants. If the target ratio is not met, additional applicants of the minority gender are hired. For improving rights and achieving proactive welfare of the disabled, government needed to employ them. However, applying the same set of criteria as the non-disabled could unfairly disadvantage them as they are challenged in employment. So MOSPA set a quota for the disabled out of the entire annual employment target. A separate exam for the quota was administered exclusively for the disabled. However, this approach still unfairly favored people with relatively minor disabilities. To resolve discrimination, MOSPA planned to divide the quota to select the severely disabled separately. MOSPA also needed approaches to other minorities, including the poor, financially challenged in preparing open competitive exam, graduates of colleges located in provinces with relatively little access to recruitment information, and the North Korean defectors needed to support the successful settlement in South Korea. In this situation, Korean Government started the system, The Balances Civil Service Employment System for the Social Minorities.

B. Strategic Approach

 2. What was the solution?
The Balanced Civil Service Employment System for the Social Minorities which hires talented resources from all socially isolated or vulnerable groups is the result of close cooperation among the Ministry of Security and Public Administration(MOSPA), relevant government ministries and agencies, public institutions, social groups and experts in the private sector with an aim to enhance representativeness of civil service and offer customized services to all walks of life. (Phase 1) Cooperation among government ministries, academia and public organizations In order to increase employment of the low income class and the disabled in civil service, MOSPA, which is in charge of Civil Service employment system, organized a “Council to Increase Civil Service Employment of the Socially Marginalized” in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which oversees welfare policy for the underprivileged and the disabled. The council was composed of relevant public officials and members of academia from personnel administration and social welfare areas, and together they tried to modify the current scheme. Furthermore, in the process of increasing employment of the disabled, the government partnered with the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled to identify public service operations that may be performed by people with disabilities of different types. The Ministry continues consulting with the Agency in promoting the new civil servant employment policy for the disabled and supplying auxiliary engineering devices customized to the different needs of new recruits with various disabilities. (Phase 2) Extensive effort to listen to public opinion for potential public servants In the process of shaping the policies and operational details, the government opened a public hearing to capture the opinions of those who wish to work as public officials. At the hearings, presentations were made by representatives of the government and relevant academic associations as well as a professor of public administration. General public also put forward their voices. Also, the changed employment system was notified prior to enactment to collect comments from the general public extensively to enhance public acceptability. In the process of introducing various employment systems for talented yet socially marginalized groups, stakeholders responded occasional opposition and resistance. However, the government was able to pull off advancement of employment system by building a national consensus and social agreement through a process of incorporating various voices to its plan at many public hearings and panel discussions. (Phase 3) Propagation of the new system through inter-ministry cooperation MOSPA has been making comprehensive efforts for successful implementation of the new employment system. In cooperation of all government ministries, it encouraged employment of the socially marginalized, found roles and responsibilities that may be entrusted to the classes, and provided necessary personal and material support to assist the new recruits under the system in adapting to workplace and managing job performance.

 3. How did the initiative solve the problem and improve people’s lives?
The initiative is unique in that it does not hurt the basic principle of capacity and merits, while also ensuring equal employment opportunities for the social minorities. For the disabled and the poor, the recruitment examination is separately administered to accept application only from these groups, by assigning a quota to those groups out of the total openings so as to achieve the target employment level effectively. In addition, this system considers regional balance and gender equality in civil service employment without impairing open competitive exam principle. Just additional applicants will be accepted so it strikes a good balance between fairness and social equity We have built a portal system(www.gosi.go.kr) and offered all related information about civil service employment exam, such as the announcement, receiving application and gathering of public opinion in one place. Also, it is innovative in that an annual public service employment fair is organized, where civil servant hopefuls can access all the information about public service employment at one place in a transparent and convenient manner to get help in understanding all civil service. The fair also offers a hands-on experience program to provide practical tips about the civil service employment exam, going beyond superficial.

C. Execution and Implementation

 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
1) civil servant employment of the disabled The exclusive quota system for the disabled was first introduced in the open competitive examination to recruit Grade 9 public servants for the year 1989. As the second phase of implementation, the system was extended to include the exam for Grade 7 in 1996. The quota is 6 percent of all new employment in the public sector (186 out of 2,900 openings as of 2013). However, it was pointed out that those who benefitted from this system were disproportionate to the people with relatively light disability. In order to overcome this limitation, a separate exam started in 2008 which is open exclusively to people with severe disability. It is helping the severely disabled with diverse experience to work in government. To successfully execute the new system, the Ministry adopted a phased approach: first, in order to encourage employment of the disabled at different public organization, it made necessary amendment to the current legislation; then the Ministry actively looked for positions that may be filled with the disabled in different parts of the government, which could achieve employment exceeding the target of 3% in government. The efforts go beyond employment. Through regular meetings and personalized consultations to handle job difficulties, the Ministry is providing all-out support their adaption. 2) For the low income class As of 2011, 2.9 percent of the total Korean population is eligible for the basic livelihood protection payments, and the number of single-parent families is also on the rise. As part of proactive welfare efforts for these low income families to improve and help rebuilding their livelihood, a separate quota system for low income families was introduced in 2009 for Grade 9 open competitive examination. Since then, at least 1% of the annual new public servants are hired from the low income class. As Research found that the employees hired through this system show high performance, a plan is currently under consideration to adjust the quota to 2% of the total new openings. 3) Gender equality In order to ensure balanced employment of both genders in public service, the government has implemented a target-based gender equality system in employment. If the number of either gender is smaller than 30 percent of all successful applicants, additional applicants of the gender are hired on top of the originally planned new recruitments to meet the target ratio, provided their exam score exceeds a preset level. The employment targets and performances are reviewed every five years for possible adjustment ratio. 4) National balance in employment Korea is composed of 17 provinces. However, most of higher education institutes are clustered around the capital city, which inevitably resulted in a talent imbalance, heavily tilted in favor of the capital areas. Under the circumstances, there were concerns that the public servant organization is likely to be composed of people from the capital areas. To achieve regional balance within the government organization, the employment target system for the provincial college graduates was introduced in 2007. Out of all successful applicants of public service employment exam, if graduates of colleges located in non-capital areas take up less than the target employment rate of 20%, additional number of provincial college graduates is hired. 5) Employment of North Korean defectors Starting in 2012, employment in public service is expanded for North Korean defectors and people from multicultural families in order to support their financial independence and to promote social cohesion. The government is making active efforts to identify official positions that may be better filled with the North Korean defector group and people from multicultural families to increase their representation.

 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
1) Government ministries The Ministry of Health and Welfare is in charge of establishing policies for stable employment of the disabled and low income families. In particular, the ministry is entrusted with the responsibility of implementing positive welfare by expanding their employment opportunities in the public sphere. The Ministry of Education is also a stakeholder in that it is charged with nurturing colleges by distributing competitiveness of higher education to provinces from the central region, as well as finding and hiring local talents to civil service. 2) Public Institution "Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled" is a public institution dedicated to boosting and mediating employment of the disabled. Its operations include placement service, vocational training, and auxiliary engineering assistance. The Agency is assisting this initiative by providing vocational training in the civil service areas where the disabled may not be put at a disadvantage. 3) Association As public servant recruiment is an important part of personnel administration, whenever a change is sought and introduced, the government consults with "The Korean Association for Public Administration" and "The Korean Society for Public Personnel Administration" to perfect the systems. 4) Local colleges and faculty members With the economic, social and cultural gaps between the central and provincial areas are widening, one of the biggest cause is considered the unbalanced distribution of the talented human resources. Colleges located in provincial areas have deep interest in expansion of employment opportunities for their students with the aim of enhancing competitiveness of the school and helping their job-seeking graduates. 5) Others It is an important social value to achieve diversity of human resources in civil service proportionate to representation of different groups within the society. Therefore, NGOs including the disabled and women’s groups show great interest in enhancing employment opportunities in public service.
 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
Foundation built with revision of relevant legislation without additional budget expense The Balanced Civil Service System for the Social Minorities does not require any special budget. The exams are administered according to the original principles such as capacity and merits of candidates, and all the change that was needed was additional hiring based on the target ratio, or applications are separately received for a particular group. Slight alteration in the way the existing system is operated was enough to make big impact. The system was implemented through amendment of relevant legislations without using financial resources separately set aside. Still, the most significant amount of efforts was put into building a social consensus on introduction of the the Balanced Civil Service Employment System for Social Minorities. The Ministry of Security and Public Administration, in charge of civil servant employment, vigorously sought cooperation with relevant government ministries, social groups and experts in private sectors to introduce a balanced employment system to select talented resources from the socially vulnerable. It also consulted with a wide spectrum of views from the general public to create a social consensus. In particular, there were concerns raised that introducing a separate recruitment system for minority groups may reduce the total number of openings available for open competitive employment system that select successful applicants based on capacity and merit. Concerns were raised that the system may be faced with strong resistance from civil servant hopefuls. A lot of efforts have been put into building a social consensus and persuading them by minimizing the impact on the number of available slots for general civil servant exam and introducing various systems.

 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
1) Increase employment of the disabled After a separate recruitment was introduced to widen the door of civil servant to the physically disabled, the average employment rate of them at government has reached 3.2%, which exceed the mandatory employment rate(3%) set forth in the Act on Employment Promotion and Vocational Rehabilitation for Disabled Persons. It's not just people with minor disabilities: the government hires separately the severely disabled. Every year, an average 30 people with severe disabilities are selected as civil servants. 2) Increase employment of the low income class As of 2011, the people under the government basic livelihood protection program represent 2.9 percent of the total population in Korea, and there is a growing number of single-parent families. As part of positive welfare plan for those, the government introduced a separate recruitment system by assigning 1 percent of the total openings for the Grade 9 exam to the low income class in 2009. For the first 3 years, the number of new recruits stood at around 20 persons. The quota has been extended to 41 in 2012 and 62 in 2013. 3) Enhanced gender balance in civil service In order to provide a fair opportunity of becoming civil servants for all genders, a gender equality employment target system was temporarily introduced in 2003. Through the system, a total of 192 applicants (18 men and 174 women) passed the civil service exam in addition to the pre-assigned openings. As a result, women's ratio in public servant is up to 42.7% and women administrator's ratio is 12.2%. This initiative has resolved gender discrimination. 4) More balanced provincial representation in civil service In 2007, a local talent employment target system was introduced with an aim of alleviating the severe imbalances manifest in various areas between the capital and provinces as an affirmative action for the graduates of colleges and universities located in the provinces. From 2007 to 2012, a total of 24 applicants were additionally accepted in Grade 5 civil servant exam. The system has contributed to growing the provincial representation(i.e., the balance between urban and rural areas) in the government. 5) Increased employment of North Korean defectors The number of North Korean defectors residing in Korea stands at 25,000 as of now. Among them, 150 has been hired as civil servants or administrative assistance staff as part of government effort to help them assimilate to the South Korean society.

 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
1) Collection of statistics and analysis of equal employment performance and self-assessment Every year, the Ministry of Security and Administration collect personnel statistics on a regular basis to monitor and evaluate the employment status and recruitment results of each government branch. The data collected include not just new recruits, promotions, transfers and other basic personnel information but also the male to female ratio of different organizations, for one thing. If representation by women is low in a particular organization, the ministry encourages more hiring. It is also monitoring the employment status of the disabled and low income class. The Ministry of Security and Administration is authorized to audit the personnel management states of all government organizations, and issue a correction a corrective order for any non-compliance. With the authority, the ministry is reviewing the employment statistics of the social minorities and personnel support programs for them. 2) Support for job adaptation and performance After employment, the disabled, women and local talents are asked to respond to a survey about work environment and conditions. Along with this, a regular meeting is organized annually with them to provide support tailored to the characteristics of the target groups of balanced employment so that they can adapt and cope with the workplace. 3) Progress monitoring system utilizing the portal system The Ministry has built a portal system(www.gosi.go.kr) and offered all of the related information about public servant recruiment exam, such as the announcement, application received, opening the correct answer and gathering of public opinion in one place. The Ministry also inform people of the information about recruitment of the women, disabled, low income class every year being evaluated. In addition to institution-building, such as the online public hearing after public consultation aimed to monitor the progress of a project.

 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
1) Concerns about the number of employment In Korea, most public officials are filled through open competition, the number of available slots for a given year is often a matter of national interest. The average competition ratio for exam easily tops one to 100. Under the circumstances, the idea of introducing a separate examination for social minorities raised a concern that it may result to reduction of available slots of the open competition. So it faced with a strong resistance. To alleviate possible opposition, the system was managed with subtle alterations for different groups: in the case of local talent employment, a target-based employment system was introduced by hiring additional number of candidates from province if they meet certain criteria. Also, the government opted for a phased approach when adopting the balances civil service employment system, which helped build a national consensus in the process. 2) Lack of promotion for the balanced employment system When the employment system for the social minorities was first introduced, public awareness was still much lower than the open competition. To enhance public awareness of the new employment opportunity, the government launched a proactive promotion campaign by making many visits to potential target group with civil service job fairs. A comprehensive campaign was conducted on various channels including TV programs and advertisements in Bus or subway. 3) Lack of cooperation of public institutions As the balances civil service employment system may be considered an exception to the principle of merit-based employment, many ministries were often reluctant to run the system citing reasons such as the number of new recruits being not suitable to their organizational needs and the burden of resource management. The government served as a model employer to set an example by introducing and running the service proactively.

D. Impact and Sustainability

 10. What were the key benefits resulting from this initiative?
1) Increased opportunity for minorities to become civil servant Diverse minorities are benefitting from wider employment opportunity to civil service thanks to the introduction of the balances civil service employment system, including gender equality or local talent employment target systems and a quota for the disabled and the low income class on top of the existing open competitive employment exam with no requirements for applicants. Particularly, the average employment rate of the disabled at central administrative agencies of Korea has reached 3.2 percent, which exceed the mandatory employment rate(3%) set forth in the Act on Employment Promotion and Vocational Rehabilitation for Disabled Persons. It is not just people with minor disabilities: the government is separately hiring the severely disabled. It is highly regarded as a active welfare policy. Following their introduction, the government adopted various policies to create a work environment where civil servants from minorities may reach their full potential without being challenged, which in turn helped build more equal personnel management within the government. 2) Enhanced representation and diversity of civil service The balances civil service employment system has expanded the opportunity to work for the socially marginalized, which have been relatively excluded from the opportunity of becoming part of civil service. The grade, number and proportion of available slots are increased and such changes are institutionalized. The systems also helped enhance representativeness of civil service by developing from the perspective of social equality and strengthened diversity in the civil service community. 3) Reinforced social cohesion Also, the system resolved unequal distribution of opportunities and helped the social minorities work to reach self-realization and be financially independent. Incorporating values and interests of different social groups and classes within the civil servant community is in tune with public interest at the national level and it also helps resolving complaints of social groups which have felt a sense of relative deprivation. Providing necessary supports for the new recruits as part of personnel management to help them prosper in civil service job also helped reduce inter-class conflict and contributed to strengthened social cohesion. 4) Creating excellent policies through diversity of human resources Diversity of human resources is a prerequisite to building a competitive, trusted government. In a policy-making process, having people with different experiences and perspectives can contribute to generating new ideas, and help identify various requirements of different social groups to incorporate them to public policies. In this regard, creating a work environment where civil servants from various classes and groups can freely expand the ground of understanding for each other and work with creativeness is laying groundwork for excellent public policies. 5) Enhanced public image and stronger role of the government as model employer The number of newly hired civil servants from minority and vulnerable groups have been showing significant growth on a yearly basis as a result of the strenuous efforts of the government to accomplish balanced employment in civil service through increasing employment of the disabled, functional and local talents, low income class and North Korean defectors. As these efforts has sent a positive signal to the society that the government, as a model employer, is leading the private sector to achieve social cohesion and fairness, they have served as an opportunity to reinforce the public image of the government and its perceived roles. 6) Strengthened national competitiveness Through the provincial talent employment target system, a balanced development between the capital and provinces has been expedited. By incorporating various values of the society to personnel policy and administration through balancing and negotiating among the members of the society, a wide national consensus was created, which ultimately contributed to enhanced national competitiveness.

 11. Did the initiative improve integrity and/or accountability in public service? (If applicable)
The Balanced Civil Service Employment System for the Social Minorities is contributing to growing diversity and equal representations within the civil service. The system is gaining a growing public understanding and support, which leads to further expansion of the scope of application, such as an introduction of a comprehensive assistance package for the minority groups in public service. Governments of many other countries visiting Korea is showing continued interest in the system, which means that the system is sustainable and applicable to other countries. 1) establish relevant laws The Balances Civil Service Employment System for the Social Minorities is already established related laws or guidelines such as 'The Civil Service Exam Act', 'Balanced personnel Planning Guidelines'. This helps the government ministries employ the disabled, women, low-income each year. 2) building dedicated organizations The Ministry of Security and Administration has built dedicated organizations such as 'Human Resource Planning Division' which managed all civil servant employment policies and system, 'Balanced Personnel and Infomation Division' which managed 'Balanced personnel Planning Guidelines' and 'Recruitment Management Division' which managed a portal system. 3) Search for positions suitable for the disabled The disabled civil servants are provided with continued support tailored to their needs after employment to help them perform their jobs. Their personnel appointment is under special management so that their disability may meet the physical criteria required. Furthermore, the ministry is actively searching for positions with physical requirements that can be met by people with different disabilities. The positions identified through this process are filled with the disabled under the supervision of the Ministry of Security and Public Administration on a regular basis. 4) Share practices with other countries and transfer them to other countries Korea’s civil servant employment system has been the target of benchmarking in many different countries. Head of public servant employment of Myanmar, Indonesia and other countries paid a visit to Korea to learn about various practices of talent recruitment system. In particular, the balances civil service employment system has been the center of attention across the globe. If other countries learn from Korea’s experience and establish measures to respond to challenges faced by Korea in the process of introducing the equal employment system before adopting a similar system of their own, they can expect some immediate results. 5) Increase opportunity to work in government for the disabled and low income family As the disabled and low income class employees are showing good performance after employment in civil service, the government is building on the current employment plan for the disabled. Customed education is also offered to the disabled to build on their capacity, such as vocational training courses specifically designed for people with disabilities. Continued efforts are being made to increase the employment rate of the disabled and low income class in civil service.

 12. Were special measures put in place to ensure that the initiative benefits women and girls and improves the situation of the poorest and most vulnerable? (If applicable)
1) Government driven system renovation accompanied by social consensus With increasing diversity in Korean society, it was needed to introduce various employment systems for talented yet socially marginalized groups while keeping the achievement-based employment system in place. In spite of occasional opposition and resistance of stakeholders, the government was able to pull off advancement of employment system by building a national consensus and social agreement through a process of incorporating various voices to its plan at many public hearings and panel discussions. Furthermore, the well-organized government plan with strong initiative as well as long-term vision granted the successful implementation of the system renovation. Based on the procedural justice acquired, the Korean government is planning to build on the current employment system as well as developing them in association with other policies that may enhance performance of the government. 2) Importance of step by step implementation It was shown that step by step implementation was more efficient than simultaneous introduction of the new system in achieving the solid progress. In regard to the gender equal employment policy, it initially targeted only women inadequately represented when the policy was introduced. The aiming female to male recruitment ratio was 10% at the beginning and gradually increased to 20%. With the success of the policy, concerns were raised about reverse discrimination against men, as some recruitment areas saw few successful male applicants. In 2003, the policy was evolved to a more socially acceptable system targeting both women and men, under which it is strongly recommended and regularly monitored that representation by either gender should not be less than 30 percent of all successful applicants. 3) Providing opportunity for the socially vulnerable groups and Enhancing representativeness & diversity of civil service Korea has secured a stable source of talented resources for civil servants through the open competitive exam system, which guarantees equal opportunity of application regardless of educational background or age. The system has been complemented by the balances civil service employment system to protect the socially vulnerable. This resulted in balanced employment of talented resources from all walks of life, as well as provided actual equality in opportunity for the social minority and vulnerable groups, which have suffered a sense of relative deprivation. Also the government is offering a variety of customized vocational trainings to help them stay in work in the long term, thereby enhancing representativeness and diversity of public service employment. 4) Enhanced public image and stronger role of the government as model employer The number of newly hired civil servants from minority and vulnerable groups have been showing significant growth on a yearly basis as a result of the strenuous efforts of the government to accomplish balanced employment in civil service through this system. As these efforts has sent a positive signal to the society that the government, as a model employer, is leading the private sector to achieve social cohesion and fairness, they have served as an opportunity to reinforce the public image of the government and its perceived roles.

Contact Information

Institution Name:   Ministry of Security and Public Administration
Institution Type:   Government Department  
Contact Person:   Song Ji Yeon
Title:   Civil Service Employment System Design  
Telephone/ Fax:   82-2-2100-8514/82-2-2100-8517
Institution's / Project's Website:  
E-mail:   sjy07@korea.kr  
Address:   209 Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu
Postal Code:   110-760
City:   Seoul
State/Province:   Seoul
Country:  

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