2026 Police Officer Recruitment Announced: "Unified Constable Selection for Men and Women"

The National Police Agency announced on January 11 that it has issued a notice for the "2026 Police Officer Recruitment."

National Police Agency

The total number of new recruits this year is 6,608, an increase of 990 compared to the previous year. The recruitment is divided as follows: 6,112 through open competitive exams for the ranks of inspector and police constable (50 for inspector, 6,062 for police constable), 58 through career competitive exams for inspector or higher, and 438 through career competitive exams for sergeant or below.

Starting this year, the police constable open competitive exam will be conducted as a unified recruitment for both men and women. In the first half of the year, 3,202 will be selected, and in the second half, 2,860 will be selected. The first written exam for police constable open recruitment will be held on March 14. After passing the physical and aptitude tests and interviews, the final list of successful candidates will be announced on June 19.

The second written exam for police constable open recruitment will be held on August 22, with the final results to be announced on December 11. Those who pass the final selection will enter the Central Police Academy and the Police Human Resources Development Institute, where they will complete 38 weeks of basic training before being assigned to local police stations and frontline security posts.

Applications for the police constable open competitive exam and the career competitive exam for sergeant or below will be accepted around February through the "National Police Agency Application Site." Applications for the career competitive exam for inspector or higher-such as those for lawyers, certified public accountants, and pilots-and for the inspector open competitive exam will be accepted through the "National Civil Service Recruitment Site," developed by the Ministry of Personnel Management, starting this year.

A representative from the National Police Agency stated, "We will continue to review and prepare each step of the recruitment process, including the rotational physical fitness test, to ensure that the police can fully carry out their core mission of protecting the public’s daily safety."