Top tax accountant exam scorer in South Korea admits to using AI to cheat

The top scorer in South Korea’s recent tax accountant qualification examination admitted on Sunday that he used generative artificial intelligence and a camera to cheat, reversing his earlier denials after his unusually high marks drew public scrutiny.

“I cheated on the tax accountant examination,” Han Won-seok said on the YouTube channel run by his lawyer, Lee Don-ho. “I sincerely apologise for the harm my wrongdoing has caused so many people.”

Han’s results attracted attention because he answered 159 of the 160 questions correctly in the first-stage tax accountant examination in April, scoring 397.5 out of 400. Three months later, he scored 663 out of 800 in the second-stage written examination and was named the overall top scorer.

His exceptionally high scores had fuelled online speculation about possible cheating. Initially, he rejected suggestions that he had used an AI-enabled equipment.

Han’s case comes after three students were recently caught wearing or possessing smart glasses during institution-administered essay exams at universities in Seoul.

Last month, South Korea said the government would file criminal complaints against students caught cheating on a national university entrance exam with smart glasses and toughen penalties for their use.

South Korea’s notoriously gruelling college entry exam, known as the Suneung, is essential for admission to top universities and widely regarded as a gateway to economic security and even a good marriage.

Under the authorities’ plans, students caught cheating with smart glasses will not be able to retake their exams for three years, an extension from the current penalty of one year.

The South Korean education ministry’s new measures to prevent cheating using smart glasses, announced last month, included assigning a “designated staff member” at each examination centre to identify suspicious eyewear.