Government Employment Practices in East Asia: A Case Study of Merit-Based Recruitment and Selection of Civil Servants in Japan and South Korea

  • Kim P
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Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to compare government employment practices in looking at recruitment and selection systems in Japan and Korea with an in-depth cast study so that readers can understand how Japanese and Korean government officials are recruited and selected. In fact, there are many similarities between the Japanese and the Korean government work forces, and the “best product policy” in government employment practices is common in both countries. The experiences of Japan and South Korea in the postwar period suggest that their civil services make a strong and positive contribution to economic development. Thus, it would be both interesting and informative to review government employment practices in these countries. Both countries have had merit-based systems of recruitment and selection for a long time, which widely utilize open competitive entrance examinations. Japan and Korea’s civil service attracts the best and brightest members of their population because the government is an employer of choice for excellent job candidates. Candidates are screened through three or four levels of open competitive examinations without any irregularity or corruption. For example, the Comprehensive Service Examination in Japan and the Grade 5 Entrance Examination in South Korea are highly competitive in both countries, and most the successful applicants are generally well-educated applicants.

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Kim, P. S. (2020). Government Employment Practices in East Asia: A Case Study of Merit-Based Recruitment and Selection of Civil Servants in Japan and South Korea. In The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant (pp. 1–19). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03008-7_73-1

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