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Police have launched an investigation after the top scorer in a national tax accountant exam confessed to using artificial intelligence (AI) to cheat.
The test taker, who ranked first in both rounds of the national qualification exam held in April and July, submitted a written confession through his lawyer and acknowledged using AI to obtain answers during the tests.
He scored 397.5 out of 400 points in the first round, getting just one of 160 questions wrong, sparking accusations that he had used smart glasses to cheat, which he initially denied.
“We received a written confession through the test taker’s lawyer this morning regarding cheating on the tax accountant exam,” said Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, adding that the case had been assigned to investigators.
The ministry of finance and economy said it planned to act swiftly to suspend his qualification, according to local media.
In a YouTube video posted on the “Attorney Lee Don-ho” channel, the candidate, identifying himself by the surname Han, confessed to cheating, saying he “deeply regretted” what he had done.
“I used a miniature camera to photograph the exam questions and sent them to AI, then checked the answers on my smartphone.
“My passing the exam with the top score was not the result of fair effort.”
His lawyer added that they could not disclose further details over concerns similar cheating methods could be used by others.
The exam is administered by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRDK), a government agency that oversees national qualification tests.
The agency said two supervisors were present when he sat the test.
Authorities have recently stepped up efforts against cheating involving smart glasses.
The HRDK said yesterday an “AI inspector” caught a test taker wearing smart glasses during a gas engineer certification exam last month.
Prime Minister Han Seok-sook acknowledged public concerns over AI-assisted cheating ahead of the national college entrance exam, known as the “Suneung”, scheduled for Nov 19.
The government “will prepare thoroughly in advance and closely oversee the process until the very end to ensure the college entrance exam is conducted fairly and stably”, said a statement from her office.
The gruelling exam is a high-pressure event that many students have spent much of their lives preparing for and is widely regarded as a gateway to better economic and marriage prospects. — AGENCIES