[사설] ‘AI 시대’ 진화한 시험부정, 수능 영향 없게 잘 대처를

In 2026, a public accounting exam administrator was found guilty of committing test fraud using artificial intelligence (AI) technology. As technological advancements outpace societal expectations, the integrity of the examination system itself becomes threatened. The College Scholastic Ability Test (수능) on the 19th must be successfully concluded without any incidents, and more importantly, a solution for ensuring fair testing in the AI era should be considered.

A 19th place candidate in the 63rd public accountant exam (세무사 시험) admitted on the 15th that they had committed test fraud, reporting it to the Seoul Prosecutors' Office through a video on the lawyer's YouTube channel (법무법인 노바). He claimed that he only missed one out of 160 questions in this year's difficult first-stage test, suggesting that AI was not responsible for his failure.

The individual used a miniature camera to record the test questions and transmitted the results to a smartphone via connected earphones, admitting this as his method of cheating. AI-assisted cheating in exams has become a serious societal issue. Last month, an entrance examination at Seoul National University and Seoul University (연세대·서울시립대) for students taking the humanities essay test was exposed using "AI glasses."

Following this, the Ministry of Education conducted a nationwide investigation and found four cases of test fraud, confirmed on the 9th. However, a survey by the National Education Union in October last year showed that 82.3% of respondents agreed that identifying AI glasses through conventional supervision methods is difficult.

Given that supervisors cannot monitor every individual, the number of detected cases likely represents only a fraction of the total instances of cheating. Consequently, the Executive Yuan convened an urgent meeting on the 15th to propose measures for preventing AI-assisted cheating in national exams. Without resolving this issue, maintaining a fair competitive society becomes challenging.

The government has decided not to introduce additional measures for the upcoming college entrance exam. Officials warned that with the looming exam, it would be irresponsible to generate unnecessary confusion.