South Korea probes top exam scorer after AI cheating confession

South Korean authorities have initiated an investigation into a student who topped a national tax accountant exam after confessing to using artificial intelligence for cheating. The student, who achieved a perfect score of 397.5 out of 400 points in both rounds of the April and July exams, admitted to employing AI to obtain answers during the tests.

The top performer had initially denied suspicions that he used "smart glasses" - a claim he later confirmed in a video posted by his lawyer. In the statement, the student expressed deep regret, saying he used a miniature camera to photograph the exam questions and sent them to AI, then checked the answers on his smartphone. Financial struggles and a desire to succeed despite disappointing his parents after leaving a job motivated the student's actions.

The investigation was prompted by the candidate's written confession, received by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. The Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRDK), which administers the exam, stated that two supervisors were present during the test. The HRDK president, Lee Byung-hoon, apologized for the incident and said they would file a criminal complaint against the test-taker for obstructing business.

The presidential office is treating the issue seriously as the highly competitive annual college entrance test, known as the "Suneung", is scheduled for November 19. The HRDK announced plans to comprehensively investigate all suspected cases of cheating involving AI across national qualification examinations after the incident. Recently, authorities have stepped up efforts against cheating involving smart glasses, catching a test taker wearing such devices during a gas engineer certification exam in October.

The government also announced in October plans to file criminal complaints against students caught using smart glasses in the national university entrance exam.