SEOUL — South Korean police have opened an investigation into the top scorer of a national tax accountant examination after the candidate admitted to using artificial intelligence to cheat.
The individual, who placed first in both rounds of the qualifying exam held in April and July, confessed through legal counsel that he relied on AI to obtain answers during the tests.
His first-round score of 397.5 out of 400—only one incorrect answer among 160 questions—prompted allegations that he had used smart glasses, a claim he initially denied.
“We received a written confession through the test taker’s lawyer this morning regarding cheating on the tax accountant exam,” the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency stated, adding that the case has been assigned to investigators.
In a video published on his lawyer’s YouTube channel, the candidate expressed deep remorse.
“I used a miniature camera to photograph the exam questions and sent them to AI, then checked the answers on my smartphone,” he said.
The candidate cited financial difficulties after resigning from his job to launch a business.
“I wanted to make money, and I hated seeing myself disappoint my parents after quitting a good position,” he said.
His lawyer indicated that further details would not be released due to concerns that other individuals might replicate the method.
The exam is administered by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRDK), which noted that two invigilators were present when the candidate sat for the test. HRDK President Lee Byung-hoon apologized for the incident and said the agency would file a criminal complaint against the test-taker for obstruction of business.
With the highly competitive annual college entrance exam, known as the “Suneung,” scheduled for November 19, the presidential office said it is treating the matter with utmost seriousness.
Following a meeting on Sunday, officials decided to conduct a comprehensive review of all suspected AI-related cheating cases across national qualification examinations, according to the presidential office.
Authorities have recently intensified efforts to combat cheating involving smart glasses. The HRDK reported on Sunday that an “AI inspector” detected a test-taker wearing smart glasses during a gas engineer certification exam last month. In October, the government announced plans to pursue criminal complaints against students caught using such devices in the national university entrance exam.
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