Why ‘Does LG CNS have a coding test?’ no longer has a clean yes-or-no answer

On September 10, LG CNS announced a new CNS Special Test for 2026 H2 graduate recruitment. The written stage combines the standard aptitude/personality test with the new special test. All applicants are assessed on global technology and industry trends, while generative-AI use is evaluated in either a coding or planning format depending on the role.

That alone would be a routine ‘another employer tests AI’ story. The useful part appears only when the 2026 announcement is placed beside the 2025 H2 posting and LG CNS’s current official FAQ.

The archived 2025 H2 posting did not separately show a coding test in its stage table

The archived 2025 H2 graduate posting lists document screening, aptitude testing, first interview, second interview and medical examination. It covered technical roles including AI, Robotics, Consulting, Cloud AM and DX Engineer, but a separate coding test was not shown in that posting’s selection-stage table.

That is not enough to claim LG CNS abolished coding tests company-wide. A test not being shown in one campaign’s stage table is not the same as a permanent policy change.

LG CNS’s current FAQ still says bachelor’s applicants take a coding test

The current LG CNS careers FAQ describes the graduate written test as aptitude/personality for all applicants, coding for bachelor’s applicants and task analysis for Data/AI master’s applicants. The coding test is described as assessing basic implementation plus algorithms for logical and mathematical problem solving, with Java, C, C# or Python.

So three recent views are not identical: the 2025 H2 campaign table did not separately show coding, the current general FAQ still lists it, and the 2026 H2 campaign introduces a CNS Special Test. The evidence does not support the simplistic headline ‘coding test was abolished and brought back.’

What is clearly new in 2026: role-specific generative AI in coding or planning form

For the 2026 H2 campaign, LG CNS explicitly says the CNS Special Test evaluates technology/industry-trend understanding across all roles and generative-AI use in either a coding or planning format depending on the job.

The nine recruiting areas are AI, robotics, consulting, DX engineering, cloud application modernization, architecture, ERP, smart factory and convergence engineering. The company is therefore signaling different assessment forms for substantially different job families rather than describing one identical AI quiz for everyone.

What is not yet public includes the exact AI model, coding environment, task difficulty, similarity to legacy algorithm tests, planning deliverable, time limit and the mapping of each job family to each track. Those gaps should not be filled with invented ‘predicted questions.’

What should applicants keep — and discard — from old LG CNS coding-test reviews?

Old reviews can still help with foundational programming, implementation and algorithmic thinking because those capabilities remain in the current official FAQ.

What is risky is treating the historical format as permanent: ‘LG CNS always uses this algorithm-test format’ or ‘it was absent from last year’s stage table, so there is none this year.’ The 2026 announcement already establishes a new named test and role-specific coding/planning formats.

The first question for a 2026 applicant is therefore not the historical difficulty score. It is which CNS Special Test track applies to the target role and what the company’s latest candidate instructions say.

The easily missed signal is not AI — it is the common technology-and-industry component

LG CNS also says every role will be assessed on understanding of global technology and industry trends. That clause is easy to miss because generative AI gets the headline.

LG CNS’s current job descriptions repeatedly connect technology to client business problems: AI teams design and implement models and services for specific industries, while consulting, smart factory and robotics roles translate technology into operational use. Against that business model, the combination of technical understanding and industry context is more informative than a generic ‘AI proficiency’ label.

This does not predict the exact test. It identifies what the company has actually made explicit in this recruiting round.

BANSEOG VIEW

Banseog View — Start with the current-round assessment map, not old coding-test lore

The useful signal here is not simply that AI entered recruiting. The 2025 H2 campaign posting, current general FAQ and 2026 H2 written-test announcement describe different structures.

Historical reviews still have value for foundational skills, but they should not be treated as a permanent rulebook. This round explicitly names the CNS Special Test and separates role-dependent coding and planning formats.

For applicants, the safer preparation order is: current campaign → track for the target role → latest official candidate instructions → only then historical difficulty reviews.

SOURCES

Primary sources and references

  • Newswire — LG CNS 2026 H2 graduate recruitment

    LG CNS-provided release dated 2026-09-10 confirming nine job families, a Sep. 14 deadline, the new CNS Special Test, a common technology/industry-trend component, and role-dependent coding or planning tracks for generative-AI use.

  • LG CNS Careers FAQ

    Checked 2026-09-10. The general FAQ still describes the graduate written test as aptitude/personality for all applicants, coding for bachelor's applicants, and task analysis for Data/AI master's applicants.

  • Archived LG CNS 2025 H2 graduate posting

    The archived 2025 H2 posting lists document screening, aptitude test, first interview, second interview, and medical exam, with no separate coding test shown in that posting's stage table.

  • LG CNS — How to join

    Current official graduate journey page used as a cross-check for the company's general selection process.

Banseog does not claim that LG CNS abolished and then reinstated its coding test. The comparison is limited to the 2025 H2 campaign posting, the company’s current general FAQ, and the new 2026 H2 CNS Special Test. Instructions for the current recruiting round should take precedence.