By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
The Roh Moo-hyun administration plans to recruit some 1,000 civil servants before he steps down from office next February.
The administration has already hired 12,442 civil servants this year and the total number newly employed during Roh's presidential term will exceed 60,000, despite criticism for creating such a ``big and inefficient government.''
Nineteen ministries and government agencies will recruit the 1,000 workers between September and February, according to the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, Thursday.
Those 19 agencies said they need more employees to prepare measures related to the free trade agreement between Korea and the U.S. and to fill new job positions for international cooperation.
``The government has advocated an `efficient government' and increased the payroll in both the welfare and social service sectors. Most of the positions to be recruited this time are also for welfare projects,'' a ministry official said.
However, there is mounting criticism toward the recruiting of such large numbers only six months before the end of President Roh's term.
``It is hard to understand why the government enlarges the organization at the end of its tenure when it should conclude policies it has promoted so far,'' said Professor Lee Dal-gon of Seoul National University's Graduate School of Public Administration.
The Roh administration has already raised the payroll considerably. The number of public employees was 904,504 in February 2003 when President Roh was inaugurated, but reached 957,208 last December. With the recruitment this year, the total payroll is expected to surpass 970,000.
According to a long-term plan announced in April, regarding government organization, the administration plans to hire more than 51,000 civil workers over the next five years _ even after Roh's retirement next February.
However, the plan may not materialize if the main opposition Grand National Party takes power in the presidential election in December, as the party has said that it will cut public-sector payrolls.
Along with the increase in the payroll, labor costs for public servants, which are paid from taxes, also rose. The salaries paid to civil servants totaled 16.8 trillion won in 2003 but jumped to 21.8 trillion won in 2007, according to the ministry.