Kyongsang Natives Hold Sway Among Officialdom

Despite concerns about an alleged regional bias toward the Cholla provinces among government officials, a Civil Service Commission survey showed that the southeast Kyongsang provinces continue to dominate among 249 senior government officials at 36 agencies. The survey, conducted after the March 26 cabinet reshuffle, found that one third of the senior bureaucrats hail from the Kyongsang provinces.

Seoul and Kyonggi province had the second-highest number of government officials, followed by the Cholla provinces and the Chungchong provinces, the commission said Friday.

Kyonggi High School was the best-represented secondary school; 34 percent of the senior officials surveyed are alumni. Eight percent graduated from Gyeongbuk High School, 6 percent from Seoul High School, 5.6 percent from Gwangju High School and 4 percent from Gyeongbok High School. Graduates of Seoul National University filled 53 percent of the senior posts, followed by Yonsei University with 8. 4 percent and Korea University with 8 percent.

by Ko Dae-hoon