Planning for Korea's 2027 civil-service exams? Keep two applications on your calendar
The Ministry of Personnel Management published the 2027 Public Service Aptitude Test (PSAT) and national civil-service recruitment schedule on 5 November 2026. A crucial distinction is easy to miss: registering for the PSAT does not register you for a civil-service recruitment exam. The advanced PSAT score replaces the first-stage test for Grade 5 recruitment and the general diplomatic-candidate route; the basic PSAT score replaces the first-stage test for Grade 7. Applicants must still submit a separate application to the recruitment process they want to enter. Grade 9 follows its own recruitment timetable and should not be placed on the advanced/basic PSAT registration calendar.
Advanced PSAT: Grade 5 and diplomatic candidates
Registration for the advanced PSAT is scheduled for 18 January 2027 at 09:00 through 22 January at 18:00. The test is scheduled for 27 February; the venue notice is planned for 19 February and scores for 23 March. A prospective Grade 5 or diplomatic-candidate applicant must then register separately for the relevant recruitment examination 4 March at 09:00 through 8 March at 18:00. Treat the PSAT confirmation and the recruitment confirmation as two different records.
Later stages are not interchangeable just because the same PSAT level is used. The ministry's release lists different second-stage dates for Grade 5 science and technology (20–23 July), Grade 5 administration (13–17 July), and the general diplomatic-candidate route (13–17 July). Check the applicable stream and the final detailed notice before planning travel, leave, or study milestones. The annual schedule alone does not establish eligibility, the number of vacancies, or all subject requirements.
Basic PSAT: Grade 7
The basic PSAT registration window is 17 May at 09:00 through 21 May at 18:00, with the test on 10 July. The planned venue notice is 2 July and the score announcement 3 August. The Grade 7 recruitment application is separate and is scheduled for 12 July at 09:00 through 16 July at 18:00. The published second-stage date is 2 October. Do not assume that a completed basic PSAT registration automatically creates a Grade 7 application, even though the two procedures are linked for first-stage assessment.
The ministry says there is no separate registration fee for the PSAT assessment. That statement should not be stretched into a claim that every recruitment-stage requirement or cost is waived. Use the National Civil Service Recruitment System to inspect the notice, choose the correct procedure and verify each final submission status.
The PSAT assessment itself is open to people aged 18 or older (born by 31 December 2009), without an education or work-experience requirement under notice 2026-594. Registration is online only through the National Civil Service Recruitment System, and requires a JPG or PNG photograph. Applicants sit the test in the region selected on their application. The advanced PSAT is planned in five cities—Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju and Daejeon—and the basic PSAT in 16 regions. These assessment rules do not settle eligibility for an individual recruitment stream or guarantee a particular test venue.
Grade 9 and substitute-test results
Grade 9 recruitment applications are scheduled for 25 January at 09:00 through 29 January at 18:00, with the written examination on 27 March. Its Korean-history subject is replaced by Korean History Proficiency Test Level 3 or higher, and only a result announced by the day before the written exam counts under the ministry's release. The Grade 9 route is not described as using the advanced or basic PSAT in this announcement.
For Grade 5, Grade 7 and diplomatic candidates, the cut-off for recognized substitute scores in English, foreign languages and Korean history moves from the day before the first-stage exam to the deadline for that recruitment application. On the published timetable, this means a score announced by 8 March for Grade 5 or diplomatic candidates and by 16 July for Grade 7. Compare the result announcement date, not merely the day you sit the substitute test, against the applicable deadline. There is an explicit exception: substitute foreign-language scores for the Grade 7 foreign-affairs consular stream retain the previous cut-off, the day before its planned second-stage exam. Do not apply the general Grade 7 date to that exception without reading its notice.
Notice 2026-595 also says qualifying English and foreign-language tests must have been taken on or after 1 January 2022, while the Korean-history test has no test-date limit. If an English or foreign-language score has its own validity period, register it in advance in the recruitment system before expiry; an expired result that cannot be verified may not be accepted. Check the test date, result announcement, validity and advance-registration status separately.
The ministry expects to publish detailed recruitment notices, including vacancies, subjects and eligibility by stream, in early January 2027 through the Official Gazette, its website and the recruitment system. Choose your stream first, record PSAT and recruitment deadlines separately, check substitute-score publication dates, and read the detailed notice before submitting. These announced dates are a planning aid, not a determination that an individual is qualified or admitted.
About the Author
The Life Mokcha editorial team reviews official announcements and primary sources to explain practical information. Check the linked original sources for applicable terms and later updates.
