There is a sharp increase in young police and firefighter resignations.

The situation was similar for firefighters. The number of firefighters dismissed from office with less than 10 years of experience increased from 98 in 2022 to 125 last year. In the first half of this year, the number of dismissed lawmakers with less than 10 years of service was 162 police officers and 60 firefighters.

The proportion of all those who have been dismissed from the National Assembly with less than 10 years of service is also increasing. The dismissal rate of police officers with 10 years of experience or less, which was 63.0% in 2022, jumped to 72.7% last year and hit 77.1% in the first half of this year. The dismissal rate of firefighters with less than 10 years of experience was 62.8% in 2022, but it was 72.2% last year and 75.0% in the first half of this year.

The phenomenon of avoidance of police and firefighters is also confirmed by the low competition rate for public recruitment. The competition rate for police officer recruitment in the first half of this year was 9.9 to 1 for men and 24.6 to 1 for women. It was the first time in 20 years that the male competition rate remained in the single digits. The competition rate for firefighters was 11.5 to 1, lower than last year (13.8 to 1).

Analysis suggests that the overall avoidance of public officials has contributed to the decline in the younger generation’s preference for police officers and firefighters. The competition rate for this year’s national civil service level 9 public recruitment exam was 21.8 to 1, the lowest in history in 32 years since 1992.

It seems that the changed career outlook also had an impact. A police official said, “There is an atmosphere that does not understand that young police officers are suffering from heavy work compared to their low salaries,” and added, “Senior executives are having a hard time as the number of young juniors leaving the company is rapidly increasing.”

There are concerns that the ‘rush’ of employees leaving with low seniority may lead to a lack of public order and safety. Lim Jun-tae, a professor of police administration at Dongguk University, said, “Unlike Korea, in Anglo-American countries such as the U.S., the U.K. and Canada, the treatment of uniformed civil servants is better than most other occupations. If fair compensation is provided to those who sacrifice their lives for citizens, preference will increase.” said