Female applicants for the national police officer exam are seen doing full-body pushups as part of a physical fitness test held at the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency’s training center in Namdong-gu, Incheon, on Friday.

The test consists of a 100-meter sprint, a 1,000-meter run, situps, pushups and grip strength measurement.

Since 2023, female applicants have been required to perform standard pushups, as opposed to the previous knee pushups, bringing the test in line with that of their male counterparts.

To earn a full score, women must complete 31 pushups in one minute, while men must do 61.

In the situp test, female applicants need to perform at least 55 repetitions for a full score, and males must complete 58 or more.

Beginning in 2026, all police hopefuls in South Korea will undergo a unified physical fitness test. Regardless of gender, applicants will be tested through five circuit-style challenges: an obstacle course, pole hurdle jumping, pushing and pulling, a simulated rescue, and trigger pulling, while wearing a 4.2-kilogram weighted vest. Male or female, applicants must complete all five tasks within a set time to pass.

milaya@heraldcorp.com