🚨 Part-Time Civil Servants: Work-Life Balance Goals vs Reality and Discrimination Issues

Today Korean Social News for Beginners | 2025.07.27

📌 92% of Part-Time Civil Servants Say "Abolish the System"…Reality of Being Treated as "Half Civil Servants"

💬 A survey by the National Part-Time Civil Servants Union found that 92.1% of respondents want to abolish the part-time civil servant system. The main reason was discrimination in pay and career advancement despite doing the same work as full-time employees. This system, once promoted as "quality jobs," is now called "discriminatory jobs" by workers. Overtime work has become common, making their actual work hours similar to full-time employees. The union plans to request the government to officially abolish the system through parliamentary discussions. Contrary to the original goal of work-life balance, the reality shows workers' rights are actually being reduced.

Summary

• Part-time civil servants are government workers who work reduced daily hours.
• While introduced for work-life balance, they face the same workload as full-time employees.
• 92% want to abolish the system due to discrimination in pay and career advancement.

1️⃣ Definition

Part-time civil servants are government workers who work reduced daily hours for a set amount of time. This system was introduced in 2014 under the Park Geun-hye government to provide public jobs for people who cannot work full-time due to family care, studies, or personal reasons.

The system aims to support work-life balance and create public sector jobs through various employment types. It is divided into recruitment type and conversion type, operating with various working hours from 15 to 35 hours per week.

💡 Why is this important?

• It aims to improve workers' quality of life by supporting work-life balance.
• It helps create jobs by providing various employment types in the public sector.
• It offers flexible working arrangements that fit individual life circumstances.
• It plays a role in improving efficiency and diversity in civil service organizations.

2️⃣ System Structure and Current Operations

📕 Types and Characteristics of Part-Time Civil Servants

• The system is divided into two main types. The main types are:

  • Recruitment type: Civil servants hired as part-time from the beginning.
  • Conversion type: Existing full-time civil servants who switch to part-time for personal reasons.
  • Working hours can be set from 15 to 35 hours per week.
  • Pay is given proportionally to working hours, and various allowances are also calculated by working hour ratios.
  • Promotions and pay raises have less favorable conditions compared to full-time employees.

• Working conditions and treatment differ from full-time employees. Main characteristics include:

  • Social security benefits like pensions and health insurance are the same as full-time employees.
  • Various leaves like annual and sick leave are given proportionally to working hours.
  • Promotion periods are longer than full-time employees, limiting career development.
  • Opportunities to convert to full-time are limited and require separate procedures.
  • Work assignments often involve similar levels of responsibility as full-time employees.

📕 Problems Occurring in the Workplace

• There is a serious gap between the system's purpose and reality. Main problems include:

  • Working hours decreased but workload remains similar to full-time, actually increasing work intensity.
  • Overtime work has become common, with many working as much as full-time employees.
  • Work continuity requires working beyond set hours.
  • Additional burdens arise from coordinating work with colleagues.

• Discrimination and inequality issues continue. Main realities include:

  • They receive less pay proportional to working hours despite doing the same work.
  • Limited promotion opportunities disadvantage long-term career development.
  • They face discrimination within organizations as "half civil servants."
  • They are excluded from important work or projects.
  • Limited opportunities to convert to full-time leave them in unstable positions long-term.

Main Problems with the Part-Time Civil Servant System

1. Workload Imbalance: Hours reduced but responsibilities and workload remain at full-time levels
2. Promotion Disadvantages: Structural discrimination in career development
3. Pay Discrimination: Lower compensation system despite same work
4. Organizational Perception: Negative view as "half civil servants"
5. Conversion Restrictions: Lack of opportunities to return to full-time

3️⃣ Survey Results and Improvement Plan Discussions

✅ Reality Revealed by National Survey

• An overwhelming majority demands system abolition. Main survey results include:

  • 92.1% demanded system abolition in the National Part-Time Civil Servants Union survey.
  • System satisfaction was very low, raising questions about policy effectiveness.
  • Most complained of workloads similar to full-time employees.
  • Overtime work was widespread, showing minimal time reduction effects.

• Specific discrimination cases are being confirmed. Main examples include:

  • They receive only proportional pay despite doing the same work, resulting in lower actual wages.
  • They frequently face disadvantages in promotion reviews due to working hours.
  • They lose career development opportunities by being excluded from important meetings or projects.
  • They face misunderstanding and looks from colleagues who think they "only do easy work."

✅ Improvement Plans and Future Outlook

• The union is presenting specific improvement plans. Main demands include:

  • Demanding complete abolition of the system and conversion to full-time for all.
  • Arguing that workload adjustment and treatment improvement should be prioritized as transitional measures.
  • Urging expansion of promotion opportunities and improvement of career recognition methods.
  • Planning to publicize system improvement plans through parliamentary discussions.

• Various perspectives from government and experts are being presented. Main discussions include:

  • Some suggest improving operational methods rather than the system itself.
  • Seeking solutions through work redistribution and organizational culture improvement.
  • Researching ways to preserve the original purpose of part-time work while eliminating discrimination.
  • Reviewing policy directions linked to expanding flexible work systems across civil service organizations.
  • Efforts to develop Korean-style part-time models by referring to overseas cases are ongoing.

4️⃣ Related Term Explanations

🔎 Work-Life Balance

• Work-life balance is a core value of modern society.
  • Work-life balance refers to the ability to harmoniously perform both workplace duties and family roles. The goal is to prevent family life from being sacrificed due to excessive work, or careers from being interrupted due to family responsibilities.
  • Key elements of work-life balance include: First, providing flexible working hours and locations. Second, having good leave systems for childcare and family care. Third, organizational culture that understands and considers family life. Fourth, being able to share family roles equally regardless of gender.
  • The part-time civil servant system was introduced for this work-life balance, but in reality, work intensity has increased, producing results opposite to the original purpose. This shows that system design and organizational culture improvement must happen together.

🔎 Flexible Work System

• Flexible work systems cover various types of working arrangements.
  • Flexible work systems refer to systems that can adjust working conditions to fit workers' needs and situations, departing from fixed working hours and locations. Part-time work can be seen as one form of flexible work system.
  • Main types of flexible work systems include: First, staggered work hours that adjust commuting times. Second, flexible hours where working hours can be freely chosen outside core hours. Third, telecommuting where work is performed from home. Fourth, part-time work that reduces working hours themselves.
  • For flexible work systems to succeed, performance-based evaluation systems, digital technology use, and organizational culture improvement must be supported. The part-time civil servant problem shows side effects that can occur when only systems are introduced without sufficient infrastructure.

🔎 Civil Service Personnel System

• The civil service personnel system operates based on fairness and professionalism.
  • The civil service personnel system refers to the framework that manages all personnel aspects of civil servants including recruitment, promotion, transfer, education, evaluation, and retirement. It aims for personnel management based on performance and ability, with fairness, professionalism, and efficiency as core principles.
  • Characteristics of the civil service personnel system include: First, fair selection through open competitive recruitment is basic. Second, it operates with a mixed system of rank and position classification. Third, it allows gaining diverse experience through job rotation. Fourth, it decides promotions and compensation based on performance evaluation.
  • Part-time civil servants are subject to special regulations different from general personnel systems. They face longer promotion periods and receive proportional compensation based on working hours, creating fairness controversies. This is an area that needs review in terms of consistency and fairness of the overall civil service personnel system.

5️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Can part-time civil servants really achieve work-life balance?

A: Realistically, work-life balance is often difficult contrary to the system's purpose. Survey results show most part-time civil servants handle similar workloads to full-time employees, not properly enjoying time reduction effects. First, they frequently work beyond set hours due to work continuity and sense of responsibility. Second, actual working hours often increase due to work cooperation with colleagues and meeting attendance. Third, work stress may actually increase when only hours are reduced without workload adjustment. Fourth, disadvantages in promotion or career development can create bigger burdens long-term. Therefore, true work-life balance requires workload adjustment, organizational culture improvement, and colleague understanding and cooperation together, rather than simple working hour reduction. Careful choice is needed as experiences may differ depending on individual circumstances and organizational culture.

Q: Is it possible to convert from part-time to full-time civil servant?

A: Conversion is possible but very limited in reality. While procedures for converting from part-time to full-time legally exist, there are several constraints in practice. First, conversion to full-time requires vacant full-time positions in the organization, and such opportunities are rare. Second, the conversion review process requires comprehensive evaluation of work performance and organizational adaptation. Third, even after conversion, previous part-time service periods may work disadvantageously in promotion or pay grade calculations. Fourth, some organizations provide limited conversion opportunities themselves. Fifth, conversion processes may involve department changes or work changes, potentially not properly recognizing existing experience. Therefore, when choosing part-time work, it's good to fully consider long-term career plans and have realistic expectations about conversion possibilities. Recently, these conversion constraints are being pointed out as major system problems, and improvement measures are being discussed.