Global MPM Insight

120,000 to KRW 180,000. This adjustment allows for more realistic compensation for the physical and mental burdens associated with prolonged disaster response work. Alongside improvements in compensation, broader reforms to personnel management are being pursued in parallel. Under the existing special promotion system, even public officials with outstanding performance could be promoted only when vacancies existed in higher ranks, with off-quota promotions permitted only on an exceptional basis for a limited number of award recipients. As a result, achievements such as significantly reducing disaster damage or preventing accidents were not easily translated into personnel-based rewards. Through this institutional revision, civil servants who deliver outstanding performance in disaster and safety management - such as significantly reducing disaster damage or contributing to accident prevention - may now receive special promotion even in the absence of vacancies at higher ranks. This establishes a mechanism for more direct evaluation of on-site performance and for promptly linking results to personnel rewards. In addition, the required service period for seniority- based promotion will be reduced by one year for front-line civil servants who have served for two or more years in the disaster and safety sector. Under this system, working- level civil servants at Grade 7 or below may be promoted upon completing the required service period even in the absence of vacancies. Accordingly, the required period will be reduced from 11 to 10 years for promotion from Grade 7 to Grade 6, from 7 to 6 years from Grade 8 to Grade 7, and from 5 years and 6 months to 4 years and 6 months from Grade 9 to Grade 8. This measure reflects the high responsibility and demanding working conditions of disaster and safety fields, where performance has been difficult to make visible. At its core, this institutional reform clearly signals the government’s commitment to move away from reliance on individual sacrifice in disaster response toward a system of institutional support. By improving working conditions in disaster-related departments long regarded as demanding and undesirable, the reform seeks to revitalize organizations and lay the groundwork for attracting and retaining talented personnel. Disasters strike without warning. From torrential rain and heavy snowfall to large-scale fires and social accidents, public officials in disaster and safety management are the first to be deployed in times of crisis. On the front lines of protecting public lives and safety, they remain in constant readiness, responding rapidly while bearing significant risk and responsibility. However, the dedication of disaster and safety officials has not been adequately reflected in institutional compensation. Despite the high intensity and risk of disaster response, long working hours and repeated emergency standby have become routine. While the burden of frontline duties and cumulative burnout are substantial, the allowance system has yet to fully reflect these realities. Based on this recognition, the Ministry of Personnel Management reformed the compensation system to deliver substantive improvements in the treatment of disaster and safety officials. First, new allowances for arduous duties and long-term service (KRW 50,000 per month each) were introduced under the disaster and safety allowance framework. These allowances are granted based on job difficulty and continuous service of two years or more, reflecting not merely assignment to a disaster-related department but the intensity and sustained nature of the work. In addition, the emergency duty allowance for work at disaster sites was significantly increased. The per-incident allowance was doubled from KRW 8,000 to KRW 16,000, and the monthly payment ceiling was raised from KRW Disaster Response at the Front Line : Re-examining the treatment of Public Officials Disasters can strike again at any time, and when they do, someone will always be the first to arrive on the scene. To ensure the sustainability of disaster response, compensation commensurate with responsibility and risk - together with fair personnel management - must be firmly in place. Improving the treatment of disaster and safety civil servants is not a cost, but a national investment in protecting the lives and safety of the public. Lee Hyomin Deputy Director of Personnel Planning and Innovation Division, MPM 57 Disaster Response at the Front Line : Re-examining the treatment of Public Officials 56 Global MPM Insight Vol.5 MPM Activities