A total of 14,614 people applied for this year's first certified public accountant exam. The competition ratio is 5.22 to 1.
On the 21st, the Financial Supervisory Service said that, based on applications for this year's first certified public accountant exam, the number of applicants fell by 1,921 (11.6%) from a year earlier.
By gender, applicants included 7,939 men (54.3%) and 6,675 women (45.7%). The share of women was slightly lower than last year's 46.3%.
The average age of applicants was 26.5, similar to the previous year's 26.4. By age group, those in their late 20s accounted for 46.1%, early 20s 37.1%, and early 30s 11.6%. By education level, college students made up 55.0% of applicants, and those majoring in business and economics accounted for 70.9%.
The first exam is scheduled for Mar. 2, with results to be announced Apr. 10. The expected number of passers for the first exam is 2,800.
Passers of the first exam will be selected, without any subject failures, in order of highest scores among those with an average score of 60% or higher, up to 2,800 people. If ties cause the number to exceed 2,800, all tied applicants will pass.