Only 1.8 pct of civil servants opt for flex time

SEOUL, July 28 (Yonhap) -- Only 1.8 percent of civil servants chose a flexible work schedule even after the government encouraged its use through a new system introduced last year, the home affairs ministry said Thursday. As of the end of June, a total of 7,156 civil servants across the country were working on a flexible schedule, accounting for 1.8 percent of all government employees, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security said. Excluding the police, teachers and shift workers, only 6,346 of some 145,000 civil servants in the central government, or 4.4 percent, chose the new system, while the proportion was even lower in the provinces at 0.3 percent, with the exception of firefighters and teachers. The new system, often called "flex time" around the world, was introduced to South Korean government workers in July last year, allowing civil servants to choose their own working hours within given limits and select their own workplace, among other options. It aimed to improve workers' productivity in a society where long working hours and late nights have become standard practice. Nearly a quarter of the applicants for flex time said they chose it to make commuting easier, while some 19 percent said they chose it for work efficiency. Pregnancy and child care followed at 18.5 percent, with leisure and self-development at 17.9 percent. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said Wednesday he will adopt a flexible work schedule by working from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. "It's been difficult to change the culture of the public sector, but I expect people's interest to grow after the minister applies," said a home affairs ministry official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.