South Korea probes top tax accountant exam scorer after AI cheating confession
South Korean police said on Sunday they launched an investigation after the top scorer in the national tax accountant qualification exam admitted to using artificial intelligence to cheat.
The candidate, Han Won-seok, ranked first in both rounds of the exam held in April and July. He submitted a written confession through his lawyer, Lee Don-ho, and appeared in a video on the lawyer's YouTube channel.
"I cheated by taking photos of the questions with a micro-camera during the test. The images were sent to AI, and I could check the answers on my smartphone," Han said.
Han scored 397.5 out of 400 points in the first round, answering 159 of 160 questions correctly. He also passed the second-stage written examination and was named the overall top scorer.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it received the written confession and assigned the case to investigators. Han said he turned himself in to the agency and would submit all remaining materials and devices as evidence.
The exam is administered by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea. The agency said two supervisors were present when Han sat the test.
Han said he struggled financially after leaving his job to start a business. "I wanted to make money, and I hated seeing myself disappointing my parents after quitting a good job," he said.
Authorities have stepped up efforts against cheating involving smart glasses. The Human Resources Development Service of Korea said an "AI inspector" caught a test taker wearing smart glasses during a gas engineer certification exam last month. In October, the government announced plans to file criminal complaints against students caught using such devices in the national university entrance exam.
The annual college entrance test, known as the "Suneung", is due to take place on Nov 19. The presidential office said it was treating the issue seriously and that a meeting to discuss measures would be held.
