[Op-Ed] Civil Service Exam Halls Packed—Create Opportunities for Youth by Boosting Private-Sector Hiring

The Renewed Rush to Civil Service Exams: Around 100,000 People Take the Grade 9 Civil Service Exam Every Year, Moving Toward Predictable Rules

Large-company jobs remain stuck at around 20% of total employment, while the rest is concentrated in small and micro businesses marked by low productivity and unstable employment structures

Labor regulations and punishment-centered systems are discouraging private-sector hiring, further reducing opportunities for young people to enter the job market

The renewed concentration on civil service exams is not due to the younger generation being inherently conservative or averse to challenges. It is the result of a structural expansion in uncertainty in private-sector jobs, and a signal of market distortion created by excessive government intervention. Press down hard on one side, and the other side bulges out—a classic “balloon effect.” The more the cause of the problem is blamed on individuals, the further away the solution becomes.

The youth employment rate has remained stagnant in the mid-40% range for a long time. Entry-level hiring by private companies has declined noticeably, and the employment structure has grown increasingly unstable. Meanwhile, the number of applicants for the national Grade 9 civil service exam has remained at around 100,000 every year, and the competition rate has not fallen easily. In the private sector, hiring for “entry-level employees with experience” has become routine. This reflects a shift in choice toward areas where predictable rules still remain.

Both the quality and quantity of private-sector jobs are blocked at the same time. Large-company jobs have remained stuck at around 20% of total employment for decades. Most employment is provided by small and micro businesses, but many of them remain trapped in low productivity and unstable employment structures. It is not that young people are turning away from the private sector; rather, the private sector has failed to offer them viable options.

In particular, the problem of marginal firms is serious. The share of companies unable to cover even their interest payments with operating profits has recently approached 20%. Repeated policy funding, credit guarantees, and tax benefits have blocked the reallocation of resources. Firms with growth potential lose the chance to expand sufficiently, and quality jobs for young people are not created.

Labor regulations and punishment-centered systems further discourage private-sector hiring. From the perspective of businesses, new hiring is no longer a growth strategy but a legal risk. Because of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and uncertain rules on personnel management and dismissal, many firms respond by relying on outsourcing, automation, and experienced hires. As a result, opportunities for young people to enter the private sector are shrinking.

Because of this structure, young people once again flock to civil service exams, where stability and predictable rules exist. It is not because public-sector jobs are especially attractive, but because private-sector jobs have become excessively unstable. The renewed boom in civil service exam preparation is not a youth problem, but the outcome of the policy environment.

The solution is not to reduce the number of civil servants or to change young people’s perceptions. The key is to create an environment in which the private sector can hire again. Companies that cannot cover even their interest payments with operating profits need clear exit criteria under which policy finance and guarantees are automatically cut off. What must work is not life support, but resource reallocation.

Support for small and medium-sized enterprises also needs a complete redesign. Selective support should be based not on whether employment is maintained, but on productivity, wage growth, and performance in technology investment. Repeated support for firms without results should be reduced, while resources should be concentrated on firms with verified growth potential. Only then can the quality of private-sector jobs improve.

Labor policy must also move away from a punishment-centered approach. What matters is not the intensity of regulation, but predictability. If the standards businesses must follow in advance and the scope of their responsibilities are made clear, new hiring will be recognized not as a risk but as an investment. When private-sector employment becomes more active, the concentration on civil service exams will naturally ease as well.

Young people are not a generation concerned only with stability. It is simply that a market of available choices has disappeared. When minimal intervention and smooth resource reallocation are guaranteed, the market will once again create good jobs and restore diverse choices for young people.

Yean Lee, Intern Researcher, Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

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Original title: [칼럼] 공무원 시험장 북적, 민간 고용 활성화로 청년들에게 기회 제공하라

Author: Ye-an Lee

Date: 2026-03-03

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=free_opinion&idx=28653