AI cheating scandal rattles South Korea as annual college exam looms

The marks attained by the top scorer on South Korea's national exam for aspiring tax accountants this year seemed too good to be true. On Sunday, sceptics were proven right when he confessed to using generative AI to cheat.

The scandal follows months of speculation after he scored near-perfect marks on hundreds of questions over two exams taken in April and July. It has also raised the stakes for organisers of South Korea's annual college entrance exam this Thursday.

Confession details

Han, who ranked first in both rounds of the qualification exam, confessed through his lawyer that he used AI to obtain answers during the tests. He said he had cheated by taking photos of the exam questions with a microcamera, sending them to an AI tool and checking the answers on a smartphone.

Government response

The Seoul metropolitan police agency confirmed receiving a written confession through the test taker's lawyer, adding that the case had been assigned to investigators.

The scandal has rattled a country where standardised tests largely dictate social mobility and career trajectories. The presidential office views the matter very seriously and has been working to prepare countermeasures for the college entrance exam.

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook acknowledged public concerns over AI-assisted cheating, stating the government would "prepare thoroughly in advance and closely oversee the process until the very end to ensure the college entrance exam is conducted fairly and stably".