1,150 Pass This Year’s CPA Exam... Youngest Successful Candidate Is 20 Years Old

The final number of successful candidates for the 2026 Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Examination has been confirmed at 1,150, which is 50 fewer than last year.

The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service announced on September 1 that grading had been completed for 4,368 candidates who sat for the 61st second-stage CPA examination held on June 27-28, resulting in this outcome.

The pass rate was 26.3%, down 1.6 percentage points from the previous year (27.9%). The top scorer was Hyun Woojin (male, age 25, currently attending Seoul National University), who achieved an average score of 80.8. The youngest successful candidate was Cho Seongwoo (male, age 20, currently attending Seoul National University).

Among the successful candidates, those who had passed the first-stage exam last year and took the second-stage exam this year as deferred candidates accounted for 83.4% (959 people). They were followed by same-year candidates (97 people, 8.4%), re-eligible candidates (93 people, 8.1%), and exempted candidates (1 person, 0.1%).

The average age of the successful candidates was 27.1 years, down 0.1 years from the previous year. By age group, 65.1% were in their late twenties, 21.7% in their early twenties, and 11.8% in their early thirties. Among all successful candidates, the male ratio was 58.9% and the female ratio was 41.1%. By major, business and economics majors accounted for 69.2%.

The number of partial passers was 1,825, a decrease of 202 compared to the previous year (2,027). The number of subject-wise partial passers was as follows: financial management 1,055, tax law 888, financial accounting I (intermediate accounting) 879, financial accounting II (advanced accounting) 796, cost and management accounting 763, and audit 147.

The average overall score for candidates was 57.4, 0.1 points lower than the previous year (57.5). By subject, financial management had the highest average score at 59.6, while financial accounting II (advanced accounting) had the lowest at 55.6 (on a 100-point scale).

The list of successful candidates can be found on the website of the Financial Services Commission and the CPA exam page of the Financial Supervisory Service. Individual scores can be checked using the 'Score Inquiry' menu on the Financial Supervisory Service's CPA exam website. Information regarding the issuance of certificates will be announced separately by the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

The financial authorities plan to announce the 2027 CPA examination schedule in November. Documents related to the 2027 CPA exam can be submitted via the Financial Supervisory Service’s CPA exam website during the second half of 2026.

Meanwhile, successful candidates may now complete required work experience not only at existing designated practical training institutions, but also at expanded and restructured categories such as constitutional agencies, public institutions, local public enterprises, public interest corporations, and mutual aid associations, as stipulated by the recently revised “Designation Notice for Certified Public Accountant Practical Training Institutions.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.