Thousands flock to civil service job fair in Seoul

Kim Ga-yeong, a junior studying atmospheric science at Kongju National University, hopes to work for the Korea Meteorological Administration after graduation. So Kim visited the 2014 Public Service Fair on Monday at the aT Center in southern Seoul and took part in an interview session with Yoon Sang-yong, a civil servant who has worked for the Korea Immigration Service for 26 years.

“Looking at my parents, who are both teachers, I positively thought about becoming a public servant because I can go home right on time and it is a secure job,” said Kim.

Yoon asked, “Do you still want to work for public offices when pensions for government workers are reduced, which is a pending issue?”

Kim answered she will still give it a try.

Kim Nam-jin, a 12th-grade student at Incheon Design High School, also dreams of becoming a civil servant.

“I’m now thinking of becoming a public official because my parents told me that I don’t have to worry about losing my job until I turn 60,” said Kim.

Attendees of the job fair were able to get one-on-one consultations with people who recently passed the civil servant exam. An 11th-grade student, who identified himself by his surname Kim, talked to Lee Jin-hee, an employee of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. It made him more determined to be a government worker.

“I saw my mom having difficulties because she is a non-salaried worker,” said Kim. “I will definitely become a public office worker.”

For people who want to become civil servants in uniform, such as soldiers, police officers and firefighters, the job fair also mobilized people for counseling.

“Professional soldiers may not receive high salaries,” explained Second Lt. Park Hee-jin, who was trained in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or ROTC, of Incheon National University, “but they get many perks such as lodging and they also receive about 2 million won [about $1,800] every month in pension after retirement.”

“I’m thinking about becoming a soldier because they have secure jobs and we don’t need to worry about sexual discrimination,” said an 11th-grade female student.

The ministry said the job fair was visited by about 18,000 people on Monday.

BY CHANG SE-JEONG [bongmoon@joongang.co.kr]