SEOUL (Reuters) - 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 and 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 high-stakes annual college entrance exam this Thursday.
"I cheated using electronic devices and generative AI. My passing the exam with the top score was not the result of fair effort," he said, identifying himself by the surname Han, as he apologised on the YouTube channel 'Attorney Lee Don-ho.
Han said he cheated by taking photos of the exam questions with a microcamera, sending them to an AI tool, and checking the answers on a smartphone. Speaking on camera wearing a face mask, Han added that he had submitted a written confession to Seoul police.
A Reuters call to the Seoul Jungbu police station went unanswered on Sunday.
This week, Prime Minister Han Seok-sook acknowledged public concerns over AI-assisted cheating ahead of the national college entrance exam, a high-pressure event that many South Korean students have spent much of their lives preparing for.
The government "will prepare thoroughly in advance and closely oversee the process until the very end to ensure the college entrance exam is conducted fairly and stably," a statement from her office said.