AI Cheating Scandal Rattles South Korea as Top Scorer on Tax Exam Confesses
The top scorer on South Korea's national exam for aspiring tax accountants has confessed to cheating using generative AI. His confession on Sunday proved the sceptics right after months of speculation.
The candidate had scored near-perfect marks on hundreds of questions over two exams taken in April and July, marks that had seemed too good to be true. In the first round he scored 397.5 out of 400 points, with only one wrong answer out of 160 questions.
That score had sparked accusations that he cheated using smart glasses, which he initially denied.
The candidate, identifying himself by the surname Han, apologised on the YouTube channel Attorney Lee Don-ho, saying: 'I cheated using electronic devices and generative AI. My passing the exam with the top score was not the result of fair effort.'
Han ranked first in both rounds of the qualification exam held in April and July. He confessed through his lawyer that he used AI to obtain answers during the tests, taking photos of the exam questions with a microcamera, sending them to an AI tool and checking the answers on a smartphone.
Speaking on camera wearing a face mask, Han said he had submitted a written confession to Seoul police.
The Seoul metropolitan police agency said: 'We received a written confession through the test taker's lawyer this morning regarding cheating on the tax accountant exam,' adding that the case had been assigned to investigators.
The scandal has rattled a country where standardised tests largely dictate social mobility and career trajectories. It comes just days before Thursday's annual national college entrance exam, a high-pressure event for which many South Korean students will have spent much of their lives preparing.
A senior presidential office official told reporters on Sunday that the presidential office views the matter very seriously, and because the college entrance exam is next week, they have been working hard to prepare countermeasures. The official said reports of potential cheating in the certified public accountant exam were concerning, and that the presidential chief of staff for policy would convene an emergency meeting later in the afternoon to address the issue.
The prime minister, Han Seong-sook, acknowledged on Friday public concerns over AI-assisted cheating. A statement from her office said the government would prepare thoroughly in advance and closely oversee the process until the very end to ensure the college entrance exam is conducted fairly and stably.
