Top tax accountant exam ranker in South Korea confesses to AI cheating

Seoul: South Korea's highest-ranked candidate in this year's certified tax accountant examination has admitted to using a concealed camera and generative artificial intelligence (AI) to obtain answers during both stages of the test and surrendered to the police.

The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, revealed his actions on a lawyer's YouTube channel after his exceptional examination results triggered allegations of malpractice on online platforms. He also confessed to using the same technique in a certified public accountant examination.

According to his account, he photographed examination questions using a miniature camera, transferred the images to an AI tool through a smartphone and used the generated responses to answer the questions.

He secured 397.5 out of 400 marks in the first stage in April, missing just one question out of 160, before scoring highly in the second stage in July.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency confirmed receiving his voluntary surrender statement and said the case would be investigated.

The Ministry of Finance and Economy is preparing to suspend his qualification certificate. Under South Korean law, confirmed cheating can result in cancellation of examination results and a five-year ban from taking the test.

The incident adds to growing concerns over AI-assisted malpractice in South Korea, where several students have also been caught using AI-enabled glasses during examinations.

With IANS inputs