---
title: "Korean Grade-7 Hopefuls Face Half the Competition After…"
canonical: "https://www.metaintro.com/blog/korea-grade-7-local-civil-service-hiring-doubles"
language: "en"
author: "drashtigarach"
published: "2026-10-29T00:00:00.000Z"
modified: "2026-11-09T08:34:07.566Z"
---

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# Korean Grade-7 Hopefuls Face Half the Competition After Local Civil Service Posts Double

Korea's local grade-7 exam on October 31 has 570 posts, up from 267, so competition fell from 71.5 to 1 to 34.5 to 1. See what candidates should know.

[![Drashti Garach](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:40:40/q:72/plain/images/5719d740-e510-42bc-8017-e040d145f35f_1766029465094.png)Drashti Garach @DrashtiGarach](/blog/author/drashtigarach)

[October 29, 2026](/blog/archive/2026/10)Updated November 9, 202612 min read

![Korean exam hall in a gymnasium with candidates writing at rows of desks](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:1200:675/q:78/plain/images/10772.jpg)

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South Korea set its local grade-7 civil service exam for [October 31 in 16 cities and provinces at once](https://www.mois.go.kr/frt/bbs/type010/commonSelectBoardArticle.do?bbsId=BBSMSTR_000000000008&nttId=130557), and the 2026 candidates drew [about half the competition of last year](https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20261028010009928). Planned grade-7 hiring rose from [267 posts last year to 570 this year](https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20261028010009928), while applicants grew only slightly, so the average ratio fell from [71.5 to 1 to 34.5 to 1](https://edaily.co.kr/News/Read?mediaCodeNo=257&newsId=04247606645617512). The [Ministry of the Interior and Safety](https://www.mois.go.kr/frt/bbs/type010/commonSelectBoardArticle.do?bbsId=BBSMSTR_000000000008&nttId=130557) released the figures [on October 28](https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20261028010009928). For [Metaintro](https://www.metaintro.com) readers weighing a public-sector career in Korea, this guide covers how big local hiring is this year, which provinces are tightest, what grade 7 pays on the national salary table, and how the exam changes from 2027.

## What Changed in This Year's Local Grade-7 Exam?

The headline change is the number of seats. This year's grade-7 open and career-track recruitment [more than doubled its planned posts](https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20261028010009928). The applicant pool barely moved. A total of [19,673 people applied, up slightly from 19,091 last year](https://www.anewsa.com/detail.php?number=3212502).

That mismatch is what cut the odds. The ministry put the drop down to [more posts meeting only a small rise in applicants](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2026102817361564806). Earlier ratios ran at [64.3 to 1 in 2022, 72.2 to 1 in 2023 and 70.9 to 1 in 2024](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2026102817361564806).

The written test that day is not only for grade-seven candidates. The same sitting includes [grade-7 open and career-track exams, research and extension posts, and grade 8 and 9 career-track exams](https://www.mois.go.kr/frt/bbs/type010/commonSelectBoardArticle.do?bbsId=BBSMSTR_000000000008&nttId=130557).

Across all of those exams, [1,893 posts drew 27,235 applicants, for an average of 14.4 to 1](https://edaily.co.kr/News/Read?mediaCodeNo=257&newsId=04247606645617512).

## How Big Is Local Government Hiring in 2026?

The grade-7 rise sits inside a much larger local hiring plan for 2026. The February plan for the 17 cities and provinces set out hiring of [a total of 28,122 local civil servants in 2026](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065587420425676), according to the ministry notice carried by News Seoul. That was [10,457 more than the 17,665 planned the year before, an increase of 59.2%](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065587420425676).

The plan named the areas getting extra staff. It put extra staff especially into fields such as [integrated care, suicide prevention, disaster safety situation rooms and welfare and safety functions at town and neighbourhood offices](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065587420425676). By rank, the plan covered [748 posts at grade 7 and above and 24,452 at grades 8 and 9](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065587420425676). By region, the plan listed [Gyeonggi with 5,944, Seoul with 3,638 and North Gyeongsang with 2,316](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065587420425676) among others. Each local personnel committee reviewed its numbers, which reflect [expected vacancies from retirement and leave, local issues and reorganisation needs](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065587420425676). By job series, the plan listed [9,692 administration posts, 3,478 facilities posts, 3,603 social welfare posts, 1,372 nursing posts and 957 tax posts](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065587420425676).

The plan also sets aside places for specific groups. People with disabilities get [1,818 places, or 6.5%, in the grade 7 and 9 exams, above the legal quota of 3.8%](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065587420425676). Low-income candidates get [791 places, or 2.8%, in the grade 9 exam, above the legal quota of 2%](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065587420425676).

Most of the new hires come through open exams. The plan splits the total into [23,464 places, or 83.4%, through open competitive exams and 4,658, or 16.6%, through career-track exams](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065587420425676). It also covers [552 research and extension posts, 2,281 fixed-term posts and 19 specialist posts](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065587420425676).

Jang Heon-beom, acting head of the ministry's local autonomy innovation office when the plan was released, said local civil service headcounts had been [frozen for the past three years despite rising administrative demand](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065587420425676), and that the 2026 plan in part brought those numbers back in line with reality.

Gyeonggi Province is one example of where grade-7 seats grew mid-year. In a revised notice in July, it raised its grade-7 intake [from an original 40 posts to 141](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2026070106455386691). The 141 posts split into [80 general administration posts, 25 labour administration posts, one livestock post, 20 civil engineering posts and 15 architecture posts](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2026070106455386691). The province tied the larger intake to its plan to [hire local labour inspectors to check labour blind spots and help workers with unpaid wages and unfair treatment](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2026070106455386691).

## Which Provinces Are the Hardest and Easiest to Get Into?

The national average hides very wide gaps. Daegu is the toughest, with [5 planned posts and 645 applicants, a ratio of 129 to 1](https://www.mois.go.kr/frt/bbs/type010/commonSelectBoardArticle.do?bbsId=BBSMSTR_000000000008&nttId=130557). North Chungcheong and South Chungcheong follow at [120.5 to 1 and 90.7 to 1](https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20261028010009928).

At the other end, Incheon has [9 planned posts and only 10 applicants, a ratio of 1.1 to 1](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2026102817361564806). Gyeonggi comes in at [18.8 to 1 and Sejong at 33 to 1](https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20261028010009928). Gangwon and Jeju are [not hiring at grade 7 in this exam](https://edaily.co.kr/News/Read?mediaCodeNo=257&newsId=04247606645617512).

> Local civil servants play the role of supporting regional development and residents' daily lives from the place closest to residents (translated), Jin Myung-ki, head of the ministry's local autonomy innovation office, said, according to [the Ministry of the Interior and Safety press release](https://www.mois.go.kr/frt/bbs/type010/commonSelectBoardArticle.do?bbsId=BBSMSTR_000000000008&nttId=130557).

## Who Applied for the Grade-7 Exam This Year?

Women make up the majority of grade-7 applicants. They include [10,724 women, or 54.5%, and 8,949 men, or 45.5%](https://www.anewsa.com/detail.php?number=3212502).

Most applicants are in their twenties and thirties. People aged 30 to 39 are the largest group at [42.6%, or 8,383 applicants](https://edaily.co.kr/News/Read?mediaCodeNo=257&newsId=04247606645617512). Those aged 20 to 29 make up [41%, or 8,071 applicants](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2026102817361564806), and those aged 40 to 49 make up [14%, or 2,757 applicants](https://www.anewsa.com/detail.php?number=3212502).

Applicants in their twenties make up a large share of the pool, in a year when [August figures showed jobs for under-30s in Korea falling while over-60s gained](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/south-korea-youth-employment-28th-month-decline).

## What Does Grade 7 Pay on Korea's 2026 Civil Service Salary Table?

Grade 7 at step 1 pays [2,317,100 won (about $1,730) a month](https://www.mpm.go.kr/mpm/info/resultPay/bizSalary/2026/) in base pay on the national [Ministry of Personnel Management 2026 salary table](https://www.mpm.go.kr/mpm/info/resultPay/bizSalary/2026/). Step 2 pays [2,367,900 won (about $1,770) a month](https://www.mpm.go.kr/mpm/info/resultPay/bizSalary/2026/).

For comparison, grade 9 at step 1 pays [2,133,000 won (about $1,590) a month](https://www.mpm.go.kr/mpm/info/resultPay/bizSalary/2026/) on the same table. All amounts are [monthly figures in won for general civil servants and comparable posts](https://www.mpm.go.kr/mpm/info/resultPay/bizSalary/2026/).

Pay rises with each step on the table, and grade 7 at step 23 is listed at [4,149,600 won (about $3,100) a month](https://www.mpm.go.kr/mpm/info/resultPay/bizSalary/2026/).

These are base pay figures from a salary table, so they do not line up directly with survey data on [how many South Korean workers earn over three million won (about $2,240) a month](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/south-korea-wage-workers-3-million-won-5-million-record).

## What Happens on October 31 and After the Written Exam?

The ministry set the written exam for [Saturday, October 31, across 16 cities and provinces at the same time](https://www.anewsa.com/detail.php?number=3212502). The venue, entry time, what to bring and the rules for candidates were set out in [the test venue notice on the website of each city or province](https://www.mois.go.kr/frt/bbs/type010/commonSelectBoardArticle.do?bbsId=BBSMSTR_000000000008&nttId=130557).

Written results for grade 7 and the other exams are [due in November on each city's and province's website](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2026102817361564806).

Gyeonggi's schedule shows how that works. Its applications went [through the online application centre at local.gosi.go.kr](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2026070106455386691), with [interviews in December and a final list on December 21](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2026070106455386691). Candidates there [cannot sit another local civil service exam held on the same date](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2026070106455386691). Im Yong-deok, head of Gyeonggi's personnel division, said [everything outside the revised notice stayed as in the February plan, and asked candidates to read both the original and the revised notice on the province's website](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2026070106455386691).

The other exams that day are much less crowded. Research and extension posts drew [4,567 applicants for 343 posts, a ratio of 13.3 to 1, slightly below 14.2 to 1 last year](https://www.anewsa.com/detail.php?number=3212502). Grade 9 career-track posts for technical high school graduates and expected graduates drew [707 applicants for 382 posts, or 1.9 to 1](https://edaily.co.kr/News/Read?mediaCodeNo=257&newsId=04247606645617512). Grade 8 and 9 career-track exams in fields such as industry and driving drew [2,288 applicants for 598 posts, or 3.8 to 1](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2026102817361564806).

> I cheer on the candidates who prepared for the exam, hoping their efforts bear good fruit and they grow into public servants who will build the future of their regions together (translated), Jin Myung-ki said, according to [the Asia Today report](https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20261028010009928).

## How Will the Local Grade-7 Exam Change From 2027?

This year's sitting is [the last local grade-7 written exam to include the Korean subject](https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10908086). From 2027, [the Korean language subject is replaced by the Public Service Aptitude Test (PSAT) and the written exam is split into a first and second stage](https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10908086). The number of questions in each specialist subject also [rises from 20 to 25](https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10908086).

The ministry put the change out for [public comment in March 2025](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065588016532026), in a notice carried by News Seoul. The Korean subject had drawn criticism for [rote-learning content that created a heavy exam burden and had little link to the actual job](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065588016532026). The PSAT instead measures [overall thinking skills such as comprehension and judgement in situations](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065588016532026).

Under the proposal, the process moves from two stages to three, with [a first-stage PSAT, a second-stage written subject exam and a third-stage interview](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065588016532026). Those who pass stage one would be chosen [from the top PSAT scorers, within 10 times the number of planned posts](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065588016532026). The March 2025 proposal would also [exempt anyone who fails the interview from the first stage at the next exam](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065588016532026), to [ease the burden of PSAT preparation](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065588016532026). It would also let local governments accept a [free employment health check notice from the National Health Insurance Service](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065588016532026) in place of a paid medical certificate, depending on the job. The proposal would also [rename the technical job series as the science and technology series](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065588016532026), to give more weight to science and technology talent in public service.

Korean history is already handled outside the exam at this level. Since 2021, the local grade-7 exam has used [the Korean History Proficiency Test at level 2 in place of a history subject](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065588016532026). Lower grades follow from 2027, when the history subject in local grade 8 and 9 open exams is [replaced by a Korean History Proficiency Test score at level 3 or above](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065587420425676). Ties in those exams will also be [broken by the scores in the two job-specific subjects](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065587420425676).

The PSAT itself is also changing. From 2027 it splits into [basic and advanced versions by difficulty, with the basic version expected for national grade-7 open recruitment](https://mobile.newsis.com/view/NISX20260102_0003463021). The personnel ministry plans to run the PSAT as a [separate certification test whose score can be reused in other public-sector hiring](https://mobile.newsis.com/view/NISX20260102_0003463021). It is also [pushing to bring the PSAT into grade 9 open recruitment, with details due in 2027 after research and consultation](https://mobile.newsis.com/view/NISX20260102_0003463021).

## How Does Local Hiring Compare With the National Grade-7 Exam?

The national grade-7 exam was set for [July 18, with the separate local grade-7 exam on October 31](https://mobile.newsis.com/view/NISX20260102_0003463021).

National open recruitment in 2026 covers [5,351 posts in total, including 1,168 at grade 7](https://mobile.newsis.com/view/NISX20260102_0003463021). The rest of that intake is [341 posts at grade 5, 40 diplomat candidates and 3,802 posts at grade 9](https://mobile.newsis.com/view/NISX20260102_0003463021). National grade-7 candidates already sit the PSAT as a first-stage test, since [grade 5 and 7 national exams use it in the first round](https://mobile.newsis.com/view/NISX20260102_0003463021).

## What This Means for Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

The halved ratio is real, but it is an average built from very uneven provinces. The gap between Daegu and Incheon, set out above, shows that the province you apply in shapes your odds.

The bigger story for future candidates is the PSAT switch. Anyone planning to sit the local grade-7 exam in 2027 has a new first test to prepare for, because the ministry's reform plan [uses PSAT scores to pick who passes the first stage](https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10908086).

- **After the exam,** watch for [written results in November on your province's website](https://www.anewsa.com/detail.php?number=3212502) and prepare for interviews right away.
- **If you are aiming for 2027,** plan around a [three-stage process of PSAT, written exam and interview](https://mobile.newsis.com/view/NISX20260102_0003463021), and make sure you hold [a level 2 Korean History Proficiency Test score](https://www.newsseoul.co.kr/news/view/1065588016532026).
- **Read next year's provincial plans closely.** Seat counts can change mid-year, as [Gyeonggi's July revision](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2026070106455386691) showed.

Lacey Kaelani, [Metaintro](https://www.metaintro.com)'s CEO, puts it this way: Lower odds help, but they do not pass the exam for you. Pick your province with care, and treat this year's opening as a reason to prepare harder, not to relax.

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## People Also Asked

### Q: What is the competition ratio for the local grade-7 exam this year?

A: The local grade-7 exam has [570 posts and 19,673 applicants, for an average of 34.5 to 1](https://www.mois.go.kr/frt/bbs/type010/commonSelectBoardArticle.do?bbsId=BBSMSTR_000000000008&nttId=130557), down from 71.5 to 1 last year.

### Q: When are the local grade-7 written exam results announced?

A: Results are [due in November on each city's and province's website](https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20261028010009928).

### Q: What replaces the Korean subject in the local grade-7 exam?

A: From 2027, [the Public Service Aptitude Test replaces the Korean subject](https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10908086), and the personnel ministry plans to [run the PSAT as a separate certification test](https://mobile.newsis.com/view/NISX20260102_0003463021).

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