Through our performance management system, the Korean government strives to enhance the capacity of public officials and to ensure that the hard-working public officials who make the Korean government more competitive are properly compensated.

Performance Evaluation

Public officials of grade 4 or higher, including Senior Civil Service (SCS) members and director-levels, receive an annual evaluation with regard to individual and departmental performance, and credentials and competence associated with job performance. After setting performance targets and indicators through consultation with the evaluator, the public official signs a performance agreement regarding individual and departmental duties, and he/she is evaluated based on this agreement. The results of the performance evaluation are reflected in grading for annual performance-based salary, and used in various personnel management processes such as promotion and appointment screening.

Public officials of grade 5 or below receive a biannual evaluation regarding work performance and job competency. The evaluator conducts a face-to-face interview with the official being evaluated, periodically checks and records the status of work done, and evaluates him/her based on the results. The performance evaluation results are reflected in promotion screening and grading for performance-based pay, and used in various HR operations such as job transfers and training and education.

Performance-based pay

Reflecting the results of performance evaluation, public officials of grade 5 or higher are paid a performancebased annual salary (accumulative), and public officials of grades 6-9 are paid a performance-based bonus (at least once a year, lump-sum).

The performance-based pay system was first introduced in the civil service in Korea in 1999 in the form of performance annual salaries for director general or higher, and performance bonus for director and below. Since then, the range of public officials receiving performance salaries has gradually expanded to include public officials of grade 5 in 2017.

The SCS members receive performance pay entirely based on performance evaluation results (including performance agreements) while public officials at director-level receive performance-based annual salary based on various evaluation factors including performance agreements. Performance pay is distributed according to 4 ratings (S, A, B and C).

Public officials of grade 4 (evaluations results including performance agreements used as reference) and public officials of grade 5 (performance agreements or work performance results used as reference) receive performance-based annual salary according to 4 ratings (S, A, B and C).

For public officials of grades 6-9, the score of work performance is used to determine performance-based bonus. Each ministry has autonomy in setting the rating system (minium three ratings) and percentage of staff receiving bonus and bonus amount as percentage of total payroll.