Female civil servants at grade 5 and above top 10,000 at local governments for first time

The number of female civil servants at grade 5 and above working at local governments has exceeded 10,000 for the first time.

According to personnel statistics released by the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the total number of local government civil servants stood at 313,924 as of the end of last year — down 1,281, or 0.4 percent, from 2024. The ministry attributed the decline to a rise in parental leave, which reduced the number of staff on active duty.

By region, Gyeonggi Province had the largest local government workforce at 56,988, followed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government at 48,413, North Gyeongsang Province at 24,281, South Gyeongsang Province at 23,331 and South Jeolla Province at 21,542.

Among cities and counties, Changwon in South Gyeongsang Province had the most civil servants at 4,076, followed by Suwon in Gyeonggi Province at 3,802, Goyang in Gyeonggi Province at 3,456, Yongin in Gyeonggi Province at 3,409 and Cheongju in North Chungcheong Province at 3,331.

By job category, general-track civil servants accounted for the vast majority at 312,057. Special-track staff numbered 929, designated-grade staff 660 and political appointees 278.

By rank, grade 6 civil servants made up the largest share at 30.2 percent, while those at grade 5 and above accounted for 8.3 percent.

Among all local government civil servants, women numbered 163,328 — an increase of 1,618 from a year earlier.

The number of female civil servants at grade 5 and above surpassed 10,000 for the first time, reaching 10,518 out of a total of 27,139 at that rank. It is the first time the figure has crossed that threshold since the ministry began compiling the relevant statistics in 2005.

The share of women among grade-5-and-above local government civil servants also rose 4.1 percentage points, from 34.7 percent in 2024 to 38.8 percent last year.

The number of newly appointed civil servants last year came to 16,243, down 2,529, or 13.5 percent, from the previous year.

New appointments have been on a downward trend since 2021, but the figures are expected to reverse course. The number of civil servants set to reach mandatory retirement age is projected at 4,550 this year, 7,837 next year and 9,273 the year after.

The use of leave programs also increased, with 33,948 civil servants taking leave last year — up 2,818, or 9.1 percent, from the previous year.

Parental leave was the most common reason, accounting for 24,266 cases, or 71.5 percent of the total. Long-term care leave followed at 7,140 cases, or 21.0 percent, and family care leave at 1,659 cases, or 4.9 percent.