South Korean tax exam top scorer admits using AI to cheat

A man who topped South Korea's national exam for aspiring tax accountants this year has confessed to cheating with generative AI, confirming suspicions that his near-perfect marks had raised. He identified himself by the surname Han in an apology posted on a YouTube channel, saying his pass was not the result of fair effort.

According to his account, he photographed exam questions with a microcamera, sent them to an AI tool and checked the answers on a smartphone. He said he had also submitted a written confession to Seoul police, though a Reuters call to a local police station went unanswered.

The admission comes ahead of the national college entrance exam on Thursday, and the government has pledged to oversee that process closely to ensure it is fair and stable.