By Lee Hyo-sik

Many university graduates these days hope to become a civil servant, work that secures relatively high social status and job security. But chances are slim for the majority of jobseekers unless they have graduated from the nation’s top three universities.

The Ministry of Public Administration and Security said Tuesday that 307 mid-ranking government workers were recruited through the state-run civil service examination on average each year during the 2007 to 2009 period.

Of the 307, 70.4 percent, or 216, were graduates of the so-called “SKY” universities — Seoul National University (SNU), Korea University and Yonsei University.

SNU graduates accounted for 38.9 percent of the total, followed by Korea University at 16 percent and Yonsei University at 15.5 percent.

If those of Ewha Womans’ University, Sungkyunkwan University, Hanyang University and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) are included, Korea’s top seven university students accounted for 86.4 percent of the total.

The ministry said 34 schools across the country saw at least one of their graduates pass the civil service examination.
It claims that its plan to abolish the 60-year old test next year and recruit 50 percent of the mid-level civil servants hired annually from the private sector. By 2015, this will help prevent SKY universities and other few top schools from filling the majority of senior government official positions.

Dominating force in judiciary

“Regardless of academic background, the new civil servant recruitment system will open the door wider for talented individuals engaged in diverse business fields, including children of farmers and fisherman, and workers at small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to become a public official,” a ministry official said.

He said providing equal opportunities to all individuals, particularly those marginalized by mainstream society, will help achieve a “fair society,” which has been preached by President Lee Myung-bak since his Aug. 15 Liberation Day speech.

Lee has been stressing that equal opportunities should be given to all people regardless of class and that the rich and those in power should follow stricter ethical standards.

However, in less than a month, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan was forced to resign after the foreign ministry was found to have violated regulations by giving special favor to Yu’s daughter when hiring her for the position of mid-tier trade consultant.

Additionally, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security Sunday launched a full-scale investigation into the nepotism rampant at the foreign ministry, targeting seven children of incumbent and former senior diplomats to see whether they received undue favors in recruitment thanks to the power of their parents.

Graduates of the three universities are also dominating the nation’s judiciary, with nearly eight out of every 10 new judges and prosecutors appointed coming from the three universities.

Roughly 60 percent of the 1,000 people who pass the Korean bar exam each year are also SKY degree holders.
Of 1,205 new judges appointed between 2003 and 2008, nearly 80 percent or 964 graduated from SKY universities.



‘SKY’ 출신이 행정고시 압도적으로 우세

많은 대학 졸업생들이 비교적 사회적 신분이 높고 직업 안정성이 좋아 공무원이 되고 싶어한다. 그러나 3개 최상위 대학인 서울대, 고대, 연세대(SKY)를 졸업하지 못하면 대부분의 행정고시 응시자들에게는 합격 기회가 아주 희박하다.

행정안전부는 2007년에서 2009년 3개년 동안 평균 307명의 5급 직원이 매년 행시를 통해 채용됐다고 화요일 밝혔다.

이 들 중 70.4%인 216명이 소위 SKY출신으로 나타났다.

서울대 출신이 38.9%를 차지했고 뒤이어 고대와 연세대가 각각 16%와 15.5%를 차지했다.

이화여대, 성균관대, 서강대와 KAIST를 포함한 상위권 7개 대학이 무려 86.4%를 차지했다.

전국 34개 대학이 최소 1명을 5급 행정고시에 합격시킨 것으로 나타났다.