South Korea will raise civil servant pay 3.9% next year, the largest increase in 16 years, bringing the starting monthly salary for entry-level Grade 9 officials to about 3 million won ($2,200), including base pay and allowances. The Cabinet reviewed the measure in the 2027 budget proposal on the 1st, the Ministry of Planning and Budget said. The increase follows rises of 3.0% last year and 3.5% this year, and exceeds next year’s 3.7% minimum wage increase and inflation forecasts of 2.2% from the government and 2.3% from the Bank of Korea. Vice Minister Cho Yong-beom said the government considered the widening pay gap with the private sector and the minimum wage increase. The decision falls below the 7.1% increase sought in late June by union representatives on the Civil Service Remuneration Committee, which ultimately agreed on a range of 3.4% to 3.9%. The budget proposal also sets an adequate wage for public-sector non-regular workers at 118% of the minimum wage and allocates 73 billion won for a new fairness allowance for fixed-term public-sector workers employed for less than one year. The allowance is intended to compensate for job insecurity, while the wage policy reflects President Lee Jae-myung’s February proposal to narrow wage gaps by paying an adequate wage rather than hiring everyone at the minimum wage.