Key facts
- Candidate Han said he photographed exam questions with a microcamera, sent them to an AI tool and checked answers on a smartphone.
- Han scored 397.5 out of 400 points in the first round, with one wrong answer out of 160 questions.
- The Seoul metropolitan police agency said it received Han's written confession through his lawyer and assigned the case to investigators.
- A senior presidential office official said the presidential chief of staff for policy would convene an emergency meeting on the issue.
- Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said her office would oversee the college entrance exam process to ensure it is conducted fairly and stably.
A candidate who took the top score on South Korea's national exam for aspiring tax accountants confessed on November 15, 2026 to using generative AI to cheat, his lawyer said, in an appearance on the YouTube channel Attorney Lee Don-ho.
The candidate, identified by the surname Han, said he photographed exam questions with a microcamera, sent them to an AI tool and checked the answers on a smartphone. "I cheated using electronic devices and generative AI. My passing the exam with the top score was not the result of fair effort," Han said, wearing a face mask on camera.
Han ranked first in both rounds of the qualification exam, held in April and July. His score of 397.5 out of 400 points in the first round, with only one wrong answer out of 160 questions, had sparked accusations that he cheated using smart glasses, which he initially denied.
The Seoul metropolitan police agency said it received a written confession through the test taker's lawyer and that the case had been assigned to investigators.
The admission came days before South Korea's annual national college entrance exam, scheduled for November 19, a high-pressure event for which many South Korean students spend much of their lives preparing. A senior presidential office official told reporters on November 15 that the presidential office views the matter very seriously and that the presidential chief of staff for policy would convene an emergency meeting later that afternoon.
Prime Minister Han Seong-sook acknowledged public concerns over AI-assisted cheating on November 13. Her office said in a statement that the government would "prepare thoroughly in advance and closely oversee the process until the very end to ensure the college entrance exam is conducted fairly and stably".