A man who topped South Korea’s certified tax accountant examination has admitted to cheating in both rounds of the test using a miniature camera, a smartphone and artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
According to a report by The BBC, Han Won-seok, 34, scored 397.5 out of 400 in the first round, getting only one of 160 questions wrong. His unusually high score sparked suspicions and online speculation about possible cheating.
Han confessed to the wrongdoing in a video posted on Sunday on his lawyer Lee Don-Ho’s YouTube account, The BBC reported. He also said he had submitted a written confession to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and provided details of how he cheated.
“I cheated in both the first and second rounds of the tax account exam by using electronic devices and generative AI,” Han said in the video, per the outlet.
“I used a microcamera to photograph the test questions and sent them to an AI then checked my answers on my smartphone to commit the cheating,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“I used a microcamera to photograph the test questions and sent them to an AI then checked my answers on my smartphone to commit the cheating,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Han had initially denied allegations of cheating when they surfaced. However, he said he eventually decided to confess after considering the feelings of the candidate who had secured the second position in the examination. He also apologised to other candidates who had cleared the test fairly, saying his actions had cast suspicion on their achievements.
“It seems that because of me, other successful candidates are being suspected,” he said.
Action against AI-assisted cheating
Han’s admission prompted an emergency meeting between the Ministry of Employment and Labour and the Human Resources Development Service.
South Korean President’s policy chief Ha Jun-kyung said new measures would be introduced to prevent cheating in national examinations. He also warned that “past crimes” would be “tracked down and apprehended to the very end”.
The government said candidates found to have used AI to cheat in the tax accountant examination would have their qualifications revoked and be barred from taking the test again for five years. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency confirmed that it had received Han’s written confession through his lawyer and assigned the case to investigators.
“We received a written confession through the test taker’s lawyer this morning regarding cheating on the tax accountant exam,” the police said in a statement, according to Yonhap news agency.
Han said he had resorted to cheating because he wanted to earn money and secure a job that would make his parents proud of him again.