South Korean tax accountant exam top scorer admits using AI to cheat

A written confession

Seoul police said on Sunday, 15 November, that they had opened an investigation after the top scorer in a national tax accountant qualification exam admitted, in a written confession submitted through his lawyer, that he had used artificial intelligence to get answers during the tests. He finished first in both rounds of the exam, held in April and July. In the first round he scored 397.5 out of 400 points and answered only one of the 160 questions incorrectly, a result that had prompted accusations he used smart glasses, which he initially denied. The police said the case had been assigned to investigators.

“We received a written confession through the test taker's lawyer this morning regarding cheating on the tax accountant exam.”

How he says he cheated

In a video posted on the YouTube channel of his lawyer, the man said he deeply regretted what he had done. He described photographing exam questions with a miniature camera, sending them to an AI tool and checking the answers on his smartphone. He said he had struggled financially after leaving a job to start his own business. He added that he wanted to earn money and could not bear disappointing his parents after giving up a good job. His lawyer said no further details would be disclosed, out of concern that others could use similar methods.

Exam authority and government response

The Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRDK), which administers the exam, said two supervisors were present in the room when the candidate sat the test. Its president, Lee Byung-Hoon, apologised for the incident, and the agency plans to bring a criminal case against the examinee for obstructing its business. The Ministry of Economy and Finance said it intends to act quickly to suspend the certificate issued to him, which would cancel his pass. Officials at the presidential office called the matter serious, and at a meeting on Sunday they decided to investigate every suspected case of AI-assisted cheating across national qualification exams.

Crackdown ahead of the Suneung

The Suneung, the highly competitive annual college entrance test, is scheduled for Thursday, 19 November. Prime Minister Han Seok-sook acknowledged public worry about AI cheating in the national admissions exam. The government said it would prepare thoroughly in advance and oversee the process closely to keep the exam fair and stable. The HRDK said an AI inspector caught a test taker wearing smart glasses during a gas engineer certification exam in October. In the same month the government announced criminal complaints against students caught using connected glasses in the university entrance exam, and the HRDK now plans to deploy inspectors specialised in AI cheating tools.

Timeline of the case

The sequence starts with the April and July rounds, in which the candidate placed first in both. In October an AI inspector caught a smart-glasses user during a certification exam, weeks before the confession became public. Police opened their investigation on 15 November, and the Suneung follows four days later on Thursday, 19 November.