The Korean Standard Classification of Occupations(KSCO) provides a system for classifying and aggregating occupational information obtained by means of statistical census and surveys. KSCO is developed and operated by STATISTICS KOREA, and used by all the agencies compiling official statistics to classify jobs into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, analyzing the data.
KSCO is a five-level hierarchically structured classification that allows all jobs to be classified into its 1,231 detailed occupations. These groups form the most detailed level of the classification structure and are aggregated into 450 unit groups, 156 minor groups, 52 sub-major groups, and 10 major groups, based on their similarity in terms of skill level and skill specialization required for performing the jobs.
The first version of KSCO was developed to secure the accuracy and comparability of occupational data in 1963, and was revised 7 times so far(1966, 1970, 1974, 1992, 2000, 2007 and 2017). The KSCO was based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations adopted by the ILO.
The current 7th version was revised on July 3, 2017 to reflect changes in occupational structure of the workforce, as well as to address a number of issues that had been identified during its use in statistical and other applications. There were particular concerns about the need to reflect changes resulting from the impact of developments in ICTs, the advent of the fourth industrial revolution and an increased demand of social service occupations on the labor market. The 7th version of KSCO came into use from January 1, 2018.
○ Based on 「Statistics Act Article 22(standard classification)」 and the International Standard classification of occupations(ISCO-08)
○ The objective of KSCO is to classify the ‘jobs’ into occupational categories, and the ‘job’ defined as a set of tasks or duties to be carried out by one person.
○ Covers all jobs and occupations of the Republic of Korea in which work is performed for pay or profit.
○ All agencies that publish occupational data for statistical purposes are required to use the KSCO to increase data comparability and accuracy.
○ Revised every 5 years (The next revision is scheduled in 2024)
Major group (1 digit) |
Sub-major group (2 digit) |
Minor group (3 digit) |
Unit group (4 digit) |
Detailed occupation (5 digit) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Total |
52 | 156 | 450 | 1,231 |
1. Managers |
5 | 16 | 24 | 82 |
2. Professionals and Related Workers |
8 | 44 | 165 | 463 |
3. Clerks |
4 | 9 | 29 | 63 |
4. Service Workers |
4 | 10 | 36 | 80 |
5. Sales Workers |
3 | 5 | 15 | 43 |
6. Skilled Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Workers |
3 | 5 | 12 | 29 |
7. Craft and Related Trades Workers |
9 | 21 | 76 | 198 |
8. Equipment, Machine Operating and Assembling Workers |
9 | 31 | 65 | 220 |
9. Elementary Workers |
6 | 12 | 24 | 49 |
A. Armed Forces |
1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |