Public Times — The names of 2,574 candidates who passed the first round of the 2026 national Grade-5 open competitive civil service exam and diplomatic candidate selection, administered on March 7, were released on April 9.
The Ministry of Personnel Management said it posted the pass list on the National Civil Service Recruitment System (gongmuwon.gosi.kr).
Of those who passed, 2,299 qualified through the Grade-5 public service exam—593 in science and technology and 1,706 in administration—and 275 were successful diplomatic candidates.
The government plans to fill 341 Grade-5 positions this year. A total of 6,744 candidates sat the first exam, producing a 19.8-to-1 applicant-to-seat ratio, the lowest since 2020.
First-round competition ratios were 36.1-to-1 in 2020, 34.2-to-1 in 2021, 28.0-to-1 in 2022, 25.4-to-1 in 2023, 23.7-to-1 in 2024 and 22.7-to-1 in 2025. This year’s 19.8-to-1 figure marks the first time the ratio has dropped below the 20s.
The highest passing score was 78.33 in General Administration (Daejeon, Sejong).
In the Grade-5 science and technology stream, the average score was 74.16, with the top score coming from general civil engineering (Busan). Diplomatic candidates averaged 75.83.
By gender, 1,479 of the passers were men (64.3%) and 820 were women (35.7%), compared with 65.1% men and 34.9% women last year.
By job group, the science and technology stream included 454 men (76.6%) and 139 women (23.4%), while the administration stream included 1,025 men (60.1%) and 681 women (39.9%).
The average age of successful candidates was 28.3, roughly the same as last year’s 28.0.
By age group, those aged 25–29 accounted for 1,151 candidates (50.1%), more than half; 30–34 made up 464 (20.2%); 18–24 totaled 451 (19.6%); and those 35 and older numbered 233 (10.1%).
This year the final diplomatic roster will include 40 candidates. A total of 1,238 people took the first diplomatic exam, producing a 31-to-1 competition ratio.
Among diplomatic first-round passers, 165 were women (60.0%) and 110 were men (40.0%). The average age of those passers was 27.1, similar to last year’s 26.9.
The second-stage exam for first-round passers will be a written, essay-style test.
The Grade-5 administration and diplomatic candidate second-stage exams are scheduled for June 24–29, and the Grade-5 science and technology second-stage exams are scheduled for July 1–4.
Senior Reporter Seong-gon Kim gsgs@public25.com
