Why young Koreans are flocking back to civil service exams in the AI era

As AI spreads and companies scale back new hiring, job seekers are returning to the civil service exam market after years of waning interest. Analysts say accelerating AI adoption across industries is raising the entry barrier for young workers seeking their first jobs — not by cutting existing staff, but by reducing the need for new recruits. The trend is fueling renewed demand for the stability of public-sector employment.

According to Gongdangi — a civil service exam education brand under ST Unitas — a series of briefing sessions held Sunday in Seoul's Noryangjin district, Busan and Daegu drew a combined 6,901 registrants. The sessions, titled "THE SECRET: Preparing for 2027," were designed to help candidates navigate upcoming changes to the civil service exam format. Gongdangi is one of the leading brands in the online civil service exam lecture market.

Gongdangi organized the nationwide briefing series in response to growing demand ahead of next year's exam overhaul. Starting in 2027, the Korean History subject in the Grade 9 national civil service recruitment exam will be replaced by the Korean History Proficiency Test, and the number of questions in the remaining four subjects will increase from 20 to 25 per subject. Exam-prep circles say the higher question count has made the order in which candidates tackle subjects — and how they allocate their time — a more critical factor in passing strategies.

"As changes in the job market and improvements in civil servant compensation have raised interest in the civil service exam, the announcement of the 2027 format overhaul has made candidates even more eager for information about the new testing environment," a Gongdangi official said.

Anxiety in the private-sector job market lies behind the renewed interest in civil service exams. A survey of 206 companies conducted jointly by job portal Incruit from June 23 to 26 found that 31.3 percent of firms that had adopted AI said they had reduced hiring "to some extent or significantly" since doing so. Only 3.1 percent said they had increased hiring.

New hires bore the brunt of the cutbacks. In the same survey, 60 percent of companies that had reduced hiring identified interns and entry-level employees as the first group to be cut. Junior staff at the associate level accounted for 27.5 percent, while those at the manager level or above made up 12.5 percent. The trend reflects AI automating repetitive tasks, shrinking the volume of basic work that entry-level employees have traditionally handled.

The Korea Labor Institute also flagged the impact in a February report titled "The Effect of AI Technology Diffusion on Employment," published in its Labor Review. The institute found that the labor market effects of generative AI were becoming visible in specific groups and industries — particularly among young workers, the information and communications sector, and office workers. It noted that young workers in AI-exposed occupations had experienced a marked decline in employment since November 2022.

The Bank of Korea has also flagged the potential shock AI could deliver to the labor market. In a 2023 BOK Issue Note titled "AI and Labor Market Changes," the bank used patent data to calculate an AI exposure index by occupation, estimating that about 3.41 million domestic jobs — roughly 12 percent of all employment — are at high risk of displacement by AI.

The unease in private-sector hiring is coinciding with a rebound in civil service exam competition ratios. According to the Ministry of Personnel Management, this year's Grade 9 national civil service open recruitment exam drew 108,718 applicants for 3,802 planned positions, yielding an average competition ratio of 28.6 to 1. The ratio had fallen to 21.8 to 1 in 2024, but has since risen for two consecutive years — to 24.3 to 1 in 2025 and 28.6 to 1 this year.

A reduction in planned positions also contributed to this year's higher ratio. The number of Grade 9 national civil service positions fell from 4,749 in 2024 to 4,330 in 2025 and 3,802 this year. The number of applicants, however, rose for two consecutive years — from 103,597 in 2024 to 105,111 in 2025 and 108,718 this year.

Improvements in civil servant compensation are also drawing candidates back to the exam market. The Ministry of Personnel Management raised civil servant pay by 3.5 percent for 2026, with starting salaries for junior Grade 7 through 9 civil servants rising by 6.6 percent. The resulting starting annual salary for a Grade 9 civil servant this year stands at 32.48 million won ($21,100), or an average of 2.86 million won per month — an increase of 170,000 won per month and 2.05 million won per year compared with 2025.

Meanwhile, the government is pursuing plans to channel revenue windfalls from the AI and semiconductor boom into youth support. Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik said Saturday at a senior ruling party-government consultative meeting that the administration would seek to establish a "Future Response Fund" using additional tax revenues generated by the semiconductor boom and other sources. The proposed fund is expected to be invested in creating future growth engines, addressing K-shaped polarization, and supporting young people with housing, entrepreneurship and employment.