Last year, the number of local government officials was 315,202, which is an increase of 0.6% compared to the previous year. Their average age was 41.4 years.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced these details in the 'local government personnel statistics' on the 29th.
The number of local government officials has been on the rise for four consecutive years since 2020. In 2020, the number decreased by 13.3% to 292,181 as firefighting officials transitioned to national positions. This was followed by 301,930 in 2021, 308,879 in 2022, and 313,296 in 2023, continuing to increase until last year.
Last year, Gyeonggi Province had the largest number of local government officials at 56,948. This was followed by Seoul (48,792) and North Gyeongsang Province (24,579).
By job type, general officials accounted for 313,272, or 99.4% of the total. This was followed by specific positions with 984, special hire with 670, and political positions with 279.
Among general officials (grades 1-9), the administrative field had the largest share at 42.7%. Other fields include facility positions (12.7%) and social welfare positions (10.0%).
By rank, the proportion of grade 6 officials was the highest at 30.1% (91,618 individuals).
In terms of gender, female local government officials numbered 161,710, accounting for 51.3%. This is an increase of 3,775 from the previous year. Their share of the total increased by 0.9 percentage points.
The number of new appointees last year was 18,772, a decrease of 1,401 compared to the previous year. Since 2021, the number of new appointments has been on a declining trend.
Deputy Minister Kim Min-jae noted, "We will accurately analyze personnel statistics using the next-generation standard local personnel information system established in 2022 to proactively and scientifically prepare personnel policies," and added, "We will continue to promote innovation in the local personnel system based on population change data."