Top tax accountant exam scorer in South Korea admits to using AI to cheat

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.