By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The government will freeze the salaries of public servants next year for the first time in a decade to cope with the global economic meltdown, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security said.
``The freeze, the first of its kind since the Asian financial crisis, is to show the government's willingness to deal with economic difficulties,'' a ministry official said.
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance earlier said the freeze will save 580 billion won ($450 million) in the budget, which could be used for job creation or in the welfare of low income people.
Civil servants had an average salary raise of 2 percent in 2006, 2.5 percent in 2007 and 2.5 percent last year.
A salary freeze was first adopted in 1993 when all public servants ``returned'' their basic salary to support the then Kim Young-sam administration's plan to boost ``national competitiveness.'' They instead just received bonuses.
In 1998 and 1999, the government cut 4.1 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively from salaries by freezing basic pay and cutting off bonuses.