Next year, civil servant salaries will rise by 3.9%, the highest increase rate since 2011 (5.1%), marking a 16-year high. For junior-level employees (grades 7–9 at entry), the increase rate is expected to be even higher when additional raises are taken into account.
The Ministry of Planning and Budget included these details in the "2027 Budget Proposal," which passed through the State Council on the 1st. Recently, the Civil Servant Compensation Committee recommended a wage increase rate for civil servants next year ranging from 3.4% to 3.9%. The upper limit of the committee's recommendation was adopted as next year's official increase rate. This represents a level 0.4 percentage points higher than this year's increase rate of 3.5%.
Recent civil servant salary increase rates include: △1.4% in 2022, △1.7% in 2023, △2.5% in 2024, △3.0% in 2025, and △3.5% in 2026. Over the past decade from 2017 to 2026, the average annual increase rate for civil servant salaries has been approximately 2.4%.
In particular, starting salaries for grades 7–9 at their first year of service (first pay grade) are expected to see even higher increase rates due to additional raises on top of the general increase. This year, in addition to the general 3.5% raise, an extra 3.1% was added, resulting in a total 6.6% increase compared to the previous year. This measure responds to junior civil servants facing low salaries relative to their high workloads, which has accelerated departures from public service.
Significant additional raises are also expected next year. The Lee Jae-myung administration designated raising the starting salary of 9th-grade civil servants to around 3 million won per month by 2027 as a national governance task. In addition, the Ministry of Personnel Management announced a "Major Work Implementation Plan for the Second Half of 2026" containing these details during a work report meeting chaired by President Lee Jae-myung on the 5th.
The additional increase rate for junior-level employees will be finalized by the end of this year once the budget proposal passes the National Assembly and amendments are made to the "Civil Servant Compensation Regulations" and "Regulations on Civil Servant Allowances," which take effect upon presidential decree Lee Hu (President).
Meanwhile, the 2026 starting salary for a first-year 9th-grade civil servant, reflecting this year's 6.6% increase rate, averages approximately 2.86 million won per month (including allowances) and 34.28 million won annually. This represents an increase of 170,000 won per month and 2.05 million won annually compared to the 2025 annual salary of 32.22 million won.
According to registration results for the February civil service recruitment exam for 9th-grade national public officials, the average competition ratio was recorded at 28.6-to-1. The competition ratio for 9th-grade public recruitment dropped to a 32-year low of 21.8-to-1 in 2024 before rebounding to 24.3-to-1 last year. This marks two consecutive years of increase through this year.
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