Near-perfect South Korea exam score unravels as candidate admits AI cheating

Detailed summary

South Korean police said today they had launched an investigation after the top scorer in a national tax accountant exam confessed to using ...

SEOUL, Nov 15 — South Korean police said today they had launched an investigation after the top scorer in a national tax accountant exam confessed to using artificial intelligence 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,” Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said, 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 his lawyer’s channel, the candidate 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,” he said.

His lawyer added that they could not disclose further details over concerns similar cheating methods could be used by others.

The individual said he had struggled financially after leaving his job and starting his own business.

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