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 AdministrationInstitute for Regional Studies and Development

College of Government and BusinessYONSEI 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 Learned1

1. Korea at a Glance

2

3

Republic of Korea:

9 + 7 provincial-level governments

4

Structural Layers of Government

Top(Central)

Central Government

(Ministry of Public Administration and Security)

(MoPAS)

Middle

(Provincial-

Level)

1 Special Metropolitan City

6 Metropolitan Cities

9 Provinces (Do)

Bottom

(Municipal

Level)

77 Cities (Si)

86 Counties (Kun)

69 Autonomous Districts (Jachi Ku)26 Districts (Ilban Ku)

3,588 Town/Village (Eup, Myon, Dong)

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

The Head of the State

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

The President:Lee, Myung-Bak

Presidential Secretariat

Presidential Security Service

Office of the President

Prime Minister

State Council

President

Ministries

Administrations

Organs assisting PresidentOffice of the President

Organs assisting P.MOffice of Prime Minister

6

7

Reorganized in March 2008

2. HRM Agency, Civil Service Law and HR Systems

8

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

9

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)

Legal Frameworks: Comparison

China Japan Korea Vietnam

Civil Servant Law National Civil Service Act

National Civil Service Act

Civil Service Law

1. General Provisions

2. Qualifications, Obligation & Rights of Civil Servants

3. Positions and Ranks4. Recruitment5. Appraisal6. Appointment and Removal7. Promotion and Demotion8. Awards9. Disciplinary Action10. Training11. Transfer and Avoidance12. Salary, Benefits and Insurance13. Resignation and Dismissal14. Retirement15. Appeals and Complaints

16. Employment by Contract

17. Legal Liabilities

18. Supplementary Provisions

1. General Provisions

2. Central Personnel Management Agencies

3. Standards for Government Positions3-1. General Rules3-2. Position Classification3-3. Examination, Appointment and Dismissal3-4. Remuneration3-5. Efficiency (appraisal and improving training programs)3-6. Change in Employment Status, Disciplinary Action andGuarantee3-7. Service Discipline (obligations and restrictions)3-8. Retirement Pension System3-9. Employee Organization

4. Penal Provisions

1. General Provisions

2. Central Personnel Management Agencies

3. Classification System of Position4. Appointment and Examination5. Remuneration6. Efficiency (appraisal, training, reward)7. Service (obligations and restrictions)

8. Guarantee of Status

9. Guarantee of Rights and Interests

10. Discipline

11. Penal Provisions

12. Supplementary Provisions

1 General Provisions

2. Rights, Obligations and Responsibilities of Civil Servants

3. State Management of Civil Servants

4. Election, Recruitment, Utilization and Management of Civil Servants4-1. Election4-2. Recruitment4-3. Classification of Civil Servants and Regulations on Grades of Civil Servants4-4. Training and Upgrading4-5. Transference, Rotation, Secondment, Appointment, Removal from Position, Resignation4-6. Civil Servant Appraisal4-7. Termination, Retirement and Extension of Working Time beyond Retirement Age

5. Conditions for the Civil Service Operation6. Civil Service Inspection7. Rewards and Disciplinary Actions8. Enforcement Provisions

Positive vs. Negative

Dos vs. Don’ts

Reward vs. Penalty

Assistance vs. Discipline

Rights vs. Obligations (Duties)

Approach: Balanced or Skewed?

Career-Based System Position-Based System

BelgiumGermanyIrelandJapanKorea

LuxembourgMexicoPortugalSpain

* Recruited at lower levels and move up in their career .

AustraliaFinlandNetherlandsNe w ZealandSwedenSwitzerlandUKUSA

* Open to external recruitment and direct applications to the specific post.

Career vs. Position-Based System

Vertical Classification

Grade 6

Grade 7

Grade 8

Grade 9

Grade 5

Grade 4

Grade 3

Grade 2

Grade 1

Supporting

Officer

Deputy Director

Division Director

Director General

(DG)

Assistant Secretary

Grading of the Korean Civil Service

SCS

14

Political

Appointees:

Ministers and Deputy Ministers

Japan

The Ruling Party

The Legislative Body

Local

Governments

State-Owned Enterprises & Public Bodies

The Judiciary Body

The Executive

Body

The Scope of the Civil Service Law?

Who are Civil Servants?

Workforce in the Executive Branchas 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 %)

• Total Population: 48 million (estimated 2008)

• Ratio of Population/Gov’t Employees = 51 : 1

Large or

Small?

16

Compensation: Annual Salary of

Government Executives (Unit: Korean 1000 Won)

President 168,671 Prime Minister 130,761

Chair of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI)

98,927

Minister or Minister-Level 96,155Deputy Minister or

Deputy Minister Level(MPs)

93,382

17US 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

Contribution from

Civil Servants(8.5% of

monthly pay)

Payment from National or

Local Governments(8.5% of

monthly pay)

Pension Fund Management:

Investment and Service Delivery

Promulgated the Law on Civil Servants’ Pension

in 1960

Pension for Civil Servants

* This rate was increased several times over the years

17 % of monthly salary is accumulated

3. Civil Service Reform

19

New Civil Service System

High

Competitive-

edge

Low expertise

due to frequent

rotation

Lack of

Accountability

&

Responsiveness

Closed

System

&

Rigidity

Old

System

Openness FairnessExpertise

Autonomy Accountability

Civil Service Reform Vision

20

Management System

Recruitment Method

High Quality Workforce

Performance Management

Government Culture

Centralized Decentralized Autonomy and choice

Closed Open Right person in right position (FIT)

Generalist Specialized generalistCompetency with good leadership

Seniority-based Performance-based

Hierarchical, one-way communication innovative & proactive, two-ways

Major Civil Service Reform Tasks

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 Model22

- 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.

Open Position System:External Competitive Recruitment

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)

Staffing

Expanded System by open competitions

- (e.g.) Open Position System + Job Posting

System + Agency Flexibility

Core

Qualification

Prospective senior managers : Successful completion of

SCS Candidate Development Programs and Certification

of Competence

Grade2

Grade3

Grade1

Grade4

Candidates

From private

sector

Division Directors

Past Today

Senior Civil Service

Screen

ScreenScreen

Screen

Screen

Screen

25

Job and

Performance

related Pay

Differentiated pay scheme based on difficulty and

importance of the job and position

Continuous extension of performance-related pay

- increased portion of performance-related pay (PRP)

SCS’s‏Pay Scheme

【Annual Salary】

【Job Pay】

5 4 32 1

+【Performance Pay】

Accrues to the next

year’s‏base‏pay

【Base Pay】 +

SCS

Maximum

Minimum

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

Pay (PRP) SchemesContents

Annual Merit

Increment Program

(AMIP)

Yearly stipend system; applied to

director-general and above;

and increased variable

proportion of pay is added to

the fixed portion of the

following year

Performance

Bonus Program

(PBP)

Lump sum bonus; and applied to

division director and below

SCS’s Performance-Related Pay Frame:

Annual Merit Incremental Program

Appraisal

Grade

Excell-

ent(Grade S)‏

Outstan

-ding (Grade A)‏

Normal

(Grade B)‏

Unsatis-

Factory(Grade C)‏

Payment

Scope

Top

20%30% 40%

Bottom

10%

Performance

Pay Rate15% 10% 5% 0%

30Ideal vs. Reality(Textbook vs. Field)‏

Annual Performance

Appraisal

Competency Appraisal

Audit Result

Policy Appraisal

PerformanceInformation

Accumulation of record

Recommendation&

Nomination

Data for promotion

Data forCareer-

development and training

Utilization of Performance Records:

Toward more performance-based employment practice?

Individual Performance Record File

Press Coverage

Co-worker interview

Personnel Policy Support System

HR Database for

Public Service

Application of record

Establishment of HR Database

32One-stop Portal for Civil Service Entrance Examinations: http://www.gosi.go.kr

Competency Assessment and Leadership Development

• Horizontal Dimension: CommunicationCustomer Orientation

• Vertical Dimension:VisionCoordination & Integration

• Working:Result OrientationProfessionalismInnovation

• Thinking:Cognitive ComprehensionStrategic Thinking

Comparison• American SES: Core

Qualifications (ECQs)‏

- ECQ 1: Leading Change - ECQ 2: Leading People - ECQ 3: Results Driven - ECQ 4: Business Acumen - ECQ 5: Building Coalitions

• British SCS: Leadership Qualities for the SCS

33

HRD Innovation

Better Training and Development * The performance of the training institutes has been improving

34

Central Officials Training Institute (COTI)

Personal Capacity Building: Leadership Development

New Manager Development Course (NMDC)

Manager Development Course

(MDC)

Business Management

Course (BMC)

Executive

Development

Course

(EDC)

Advanced Manager Course (AMC)

Foundations of Leadership (FoL)Who: High potential individual contributors with peer leadership responsibilities

Who: Newly appointed managers with direct reports

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

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

How many hours per year?

Up to 100 hrs?

In what ways?

35

36

4. Other Related Reforms

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

• Established the Office of Secretary to the President for Personnel Affairs in the Office of the President (www.cwd.go.kr)

Vacancy Identify candidates

Candidates don’t apply

Candidates apply: Systemization

Screen candidates against criteria

Candidates drop out

Select/Nominate appointee

Candidates decline

Execute Hearing process for cabinet members)‏

Candidates drop out

Position filled Appoint appointee

Political Appointment Innovation

38

Screening:Expertise,

Financial

Disclosure,

Morality,

Integrity,

Conflict of

Interest....

Recommendation

Expertise

Competency

Screening

Morality, Integrity,

Conflict of Interest

Hearing(Cabinet Members)‏

Expertise, Morality

Conflict of Interest

Appoint

Personnel Screening for Political Appointees: Ethical Leadership

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

(2) Content-based Personnel Screening

Competency

Morality

Conflict of Interest

Political Screening

Task capability: positive factors

Morality, Integrity: negative factors

Conflict of Interest

Political career, orientation, etc

Personnel

Screening

Real Estate Speculation?Plagiarism?

Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission (ACRC)1981: Promulgated the Public Service Ethics Act2001: Promulgated the Anti-Corruption Act2002: Established the Korea Independent Commission Against

Corruption (KICAC)2008: Consolidated 3 agencies: KICAC with the Ombudsman

and the Administrative Appeals Commission

40

Corruption = Monopoly + Discretion –Accountability – Transparency –Compensation

5. Lessons Learned

41

• 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.”

The State of the Civil Service

• 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

What Does Normalization Mean?

Question: How to get there?

(1) Jumping to the top? or (2) Climbing up the ladder?