Tax accountant exam's top scorer admits to AI-assisted cheating

The top scorer in this year's tax accountant qualification exam in South Korea has turned himself in to the police and admitted to using AI to cheat.

Han Won-seok, 34, confessed in a video posted Sunday on the YouTube channel of his attorney, Lee Don-ho.

"I submitted a written confession to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency detailing everything I did," Han said in the video, appearing with his face partially covered by a mask.

"I sincerely apologize for the harm my actions have caused to so many people."

The cheating involved using a miniature camera to photograph the exam questions, sending them to an AI tool and checking the answers on a smartphone, he said.

Han also admitted to using the same methods to cheat in the first round of the certified public accountant exam in March.

Han earlier revealed that he scored 397.5 out of 400 in the first round of the 63rd tax accountant qualification exam in April, answering 159 of 160 multiple-choice questions correctly, in an account of his exam preparation published by the Tax and Finance Newspaper.

He earned perfect scores in three of the four subjects — introductory tax law, introductory accounting and commercial law — and 97.5 in public finance.

Particular scrutiny centered on his perfect score in introductory tax law, a subject in which 16,856 test takers averaged just 30.18 points, according to grading statistics from the Human Resources Development Service of Korea.

About 74.21 percent scored below 40 points, the minimum required to avoid failing the subject.

Han also ranked first in the written second-round exam, averaging 82.87 out of 100, well above the passing cutoff of 49.75.

The unusually high scores, combined with the exam's strict time limits, soon raised suspicions among fellow test takers.

Candidates have 80 minutes to answer 80 questions across two subjects in each session, leaving about a minute per question, including time to mark their answers.

Han had previously denied the cheating allegations in a media interview, questioning why his unusually high scores had drawn such intense scrutiny.

"I was just an ordinary student preparing for the exam, and it hasn't even been a month since I passed," he said.

"I don't understand why I should be suspected to this extent simply because I scored highly. If AI glasses could answer every question correctly, why would anyone bother studying?"

His confession came after government authorities and professional organizations moved to investigate the cheating allegations.

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook vowed Friday to take a zero-tolerance approach to exam cheating, citing the recent allegations, while the Korean Association of Certified Tax Accountants requested an investigation by relevant authorities.

A total of 722 candidates passed this year's tax accountant qualification exam out of 6,606 who took the second round, representing a pass rate of 10.92 percent.