Expansion of public sector

The Moon Jae-in administration plans to create about 34,000 government jobs next year in accordance with its presidential election pledge to increase the number of civil servants by 174,000 through 2022. The figure is the largest in 29 years since the government hired nearly 36,000 public officials in 1991.

As of the end of June this year, there were around 1.07 million government employees in Korea. Moon’s election pledge requires 76,000 civil servants to be hired in 2021 and 2022.

Regarding why so many public officials must be recruited, the government stresses the need to expand public service for the convenience of the broader populace and help relieve unemployment among young people. True, it’s necessary to increase the number of firefighters, mailmen, welfare officials and other essential personnel who are swamped by heavy workloads. But it’s doubtful whether Korea can afford the upsurge in government jobs.

The greater fiscal burden is worrisome. The National Assembly Budget Office estimates the combined salaries the 174,000 officials would receive while in office at 327 trillion won and their post-retirement pensions at 92 trillion won. The country’s pension scheme for civil servants is already wrestling with snowballing deficits — from 1.6 trillion won this year to a projected .3 trillion won in 2023.

The sharp rise in the number of government jobs could burden the private sector and generate unnecessary regulations, rather resulting in a fall in total employment. It’s also paradoxical that the number of civil servants is rising while Korea is beleaguered with the world’s fastest population decrease.

What happened in countries such as Venezuela and Greece beset with bloated public sectors should be a salutary lesson for Korea. Increasing government jobs without considering the fiscal burden may only win the hearts of young people currently preparing for civil service exams.