The ratio of women who passed annual noncareer-track national civil service examinations rose 3.4 points in fiscal 2019 from the previous year to a record 37.3 percent, the government said Tuesday.
Among the 7,605 successful applicants for positions — down 177 from the previous year — the number of women increased by 200 to 2,839, also a record high.
Of them, 4,304 are expected to start working as public servants in April of next year, while the others declined positions because they were not assigned to the ministries or agencies they wished to enter or because they decided to join private firms, according to the National Personnel Authority.
The increase in successful female applicants comes as the government promotes the employment of women, to cope with a declining workforce as the nation's population grays.
By job type, 5,675 passed tests for administrative work and 1,930 cleared the exams for technical work such as civil engineering and agriculture, the authority said.
The total number of applicants was 29,893, down from 33,582 the previous year, as private companies intensified recruitment activities amid the labor shortage. One in 3.9 examinees passed the test — the highest success rate since the current exam was first held in fiscal 2012.