Korea to actively recruit foreign talent in public sector

Minister of Personnel Management Kim Seung-ho speaks during a briefing at Government Complex Seoul, Aug. 16, 2022. Courtesy of Ministry of Personnel Management

By Lee Hyo-jin

The Korean government seeks to actively hire foreign nationals in the public sector, reflecting the need for more global talent in the country's rising industries such as space and ICT.

The Ministry of Personnel Management on Wednesday preannounced a revision to the presidential ordinance on the recruitment of civil servants, which is aimed at allowing the ministry to launch a candidate database of foreign nationals for senior-level positions in the public sector.

Under the revised measures, the government will be able to collect the personal information of foreign nationals who visit state-run organizations or attend international conferences organized by the Korean government. Under the individual's consent, the ministry will collect personal data including name, gender, nationality, occupation, email address, field of expertise and work experience.

The collected information will be registered in a database for potential candidates who may be offered a senior-level position in the central government and municipal governments as well as an expert committee run by the government.

According to Korea's State Public Officials Act, foreign nationals and dual nationality holders are allowed to work as civil servants as long as their jobs are not related to national security.

However, without an official database of non-Koreans, the government has so far not been able to actively extend job offers to foreign experts. A database currently run by the Ministry of Personnel Management has information about some 330,000 Koreans living in the country and abroad.

“The establishment of a legal basis to collect and manage data of foreign talent is highly meaningful in that it will enable the government to better utilize human resources in the ongoing 'war for talent,'” said Personnel Minister Kim Seung-ho in a statement.

“We also plan to come up with various ways to expand networking with influential global figures to promote the national interest,” he added.

The ministry's move is expected to spur the employment of foreign nationals in the space sector, aligning with the government's previous decision to possibly allow foreigners and dual nationality holders to work for a soon-to-be-launched state-run space agency.

Earlier in February, the Ministry of Science and ICT proposed a special law on the establishment of the Korea Space and Aeronautics Administration (KOSA), which includes a clause on hiring foreign or dual nationality employees to work there.

“The revision comes in the wake of a growing need for foreign talent, especially in the space sector,” an official at the personnel ministry told The Korea Times. “But that does not mean that the database will be limited to space experts. The database, once established, will expand the scope of candidates to foreign nationals in various sectors.”

According to the ministry, the preannounced revision plan will be sent for review to the Ministry of Government Legislation in mid-April after listening to public opinions until April 15. It will then be reviewed at a Cabinet meeting for approval.