How to apply for the Grade 9 civil service exam online

Applications for the Grade 9 civil service exam run entirely online through the National Civil Service Recruitment System at gongmuwon.gosi.kr, during a short window the Ministry of Personnel Management (인사혁신처, MPM) opens each year. There is no walk-in or paper application route, and results at every stage are posted through the same portal.

Where do I actually apply?

Applications go through gongmuwon.gosi.kr, the National Civil Service Recruitment System, which is separate from but linked to the Cyber National Examination Center at gosi.kr, where bonus point registration and some result checking also take place. Both are official MPM-run portals, and a candidate should be cautious of any third-party site claiming to process applications on their behalf, since the government system is the only route that actually registers an application.

When does the application window open?

MPM sets a short, fixed window each year rather than a rolling application period. For the 2026 cycle, the online application window opened on 2 February and closed on 6 February, a matter of days rather than weeks, so a candidate needs to be ready to apply as soon as the window opens rather than treating it as a flexible deadline. The Grade 9 exam page on this site tracks these dates as MPM confirms them each cycle.

What do I need before I start the application?

At minimum, a candidate needs verified identity information matching official records, since the system checks eligibility conditions like age and, for local track applications, residency registration, against government data at application time. Candidates applying to tracks that require a professional licence, described in our guide to specialist tracks, should have that licence or certificate information ready to enter as well, since the system checks track-specific eligibility conditions alongside the general ones.

What happens after I submit my application?

Once the application window closes, MPM assigns exam centres and publishes the venue list ahead of the written exam date. For the 2026 cycle, the written exam itself was held on 4 April, with the written pass list announced on 8 May, interview scheduling following separately once that list is published. Each stage’s results are posted through the same gongmuwon.gosi.kr and gosi.kr portals rather than sent by post or phone, so a candidate needs to actively check the portal at each stage rather than waiting for a notification through another channel.

Do I need to register for bonus points during the application itself?

No, bonus point registration is a separate step handled through the Cyber National Examination Center within a short window after the written exam, not during the initial application. See our explainer on bonus points for exactly when and how that registration works, since missing that separate window forfeits the bonus regardless of underlying eligibility.

How do I keep track of the deadlines once I have applied?

Once your specific exam date is confirmed for the cycle you are applying to, the exam countdown tool is a simple way to track the remaining time to your written exam without needing to recalculate it yourself. It is also worth revisiting MPM’s official full-year schedule directly, since dates for later stages, interviews in particular, are often confirmed only after the written pass list comes out, later than the initial application window itself.

FAQ

Where do I apply for the Grade 9 civil service exam? Through gongmuwon.gosi.kr, the National Civil Service Recruitment System, the only official application portal.

Is there a paper application option? No. Applications are entirely online; there is no walk-in or paper application route.

How long is the application window open? A short, fixed window each year; the 2026 cycle’s window ran from 2 to 6 February, a matter of days.

Do I register for bonus points when I apply? No. Bonus point registration happens separately, through the Cyber National Examination Center, within a short window after the written exam.

How will I know my exam centre and results? Both are published through the gongmuwon.gosi.kr and gosi.kr portals; the system does not notify candidates by post or phone.