[Editorial] Massive Expansion of Public-Sector Hiring – What About Wasteful Management?

The government announced on the 27th that public institutions plan to hire 28,000 permanent employees this year. This is said to be the largest intake since 2019. It also plans to recruit 24,000 young interns. The move is effectively a response to the continued decline in youth employment.
As is well known, the situation for youth employment is so bad that there is hardly any effective remedy in sight. Last year, the employment rate for young people aged 15 to 29 was 45%, down 1.1 percentage points from the previous year. It has fallen for three consecutive years and is now at its lowest level since 2021. A particular concern is the growing number of people who are classified as "taking a break" and are not even looking for work. Among people in their 30s, this "taking a break" group reached 309,000 last year, the highest level since statistics have been compiled.
The poor employment conditions are, of course, a result of economic difficulties. Low growth has persisted, and corporate performance remains sluggish. Only when companies are doing well and generating profits can they invest and expand hiring, but that is not the case now. Strong performance is limited to a few sectors such as semiconductors and automobiles, while many small and medium-sized firms are on the brink. From a corporate standpoint, there is more pressure to cut jobs than to increase them.
In this situation, the government’s decision to increase the number of civil servants and public-sector employees appears to be a desperate measure taken in the absence of better options. Yet having the state directly take responsibility for youth employment runs counter to market principles and is problematic. Expanding the central civil service increases the government’s burden and relies on taxpayers’ money. That might be tolerable when public finances are sound, but given the current state of the national coffers, it is difficult enough just to pay existing civil servants.
The same applies to public institutions. Shifting the employment burden onto public institutions and public corporations that, due to their own wasteful management, should actually be restructuring is a self-contradictory policy. New permanent hiring at public institutions was highest under the Moon Jae-in administration. In 2019, the number reached the 40,000 range. It then gradually declined, falling to around 18,000 last year.
The plight of young people is indeed serious, but the government must respond through fundamental, straightforward measures. Makeshift, ad hoc policies can create new problems and will not provide a lasting solution. Once public institutions have expanded their payrolls, can the government realistically demand restructuring later? It would be the government itself that laid the groundwork for wasteful management.
What the government should do is steer the national economy effectively. It must consistently pursue growth-oriented policies, foster high-tech industries, and devote its full efforts to supporting businesses. If companies thrive, employment will naturally increase. Outdated policies that try to twist companies’ arms to achieve policy goals should now be abandoned.
The same logic applies to senior employment. Policies that inflate statistics by creating unproductive public-sector jobs for the elderly should be halted. As long as they are physically healthy, older people can engage in fully productive work. The government should seek ways to utilize this potential, but ultimately leave it to the market. One crucial factor that is being overlooked is labor reform. By introducing competition into the labor market and enhancing labor flexibility, it is possible to inject vitality and create new jobs. The government should refrain from rolling out any more policies that are as easy and superficial as "swimming with one’s feet on the ground."