Another AI Cheating Incident in SNU Computer Science: "All 36 Penalized Students Admitted"

Student Council Protests “Unclear Standards”
Professor Responds, “What Efforts Have Been Made for Self-Regulation?”

At Seoul National University, over half of the students in a class reportedly received grade penalties for submitting assignments completed with the use of AI (artificial intelligence).

Seoul National University Main Gate. The Asia Business Daily DB

According to Yonhap News Agency on July 30, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Seoul National University's College of Engineering found that, out of 62 students enrolled in a major course during the past semester, more than half—36 students—used AI for their assignments. Students who self-reported received a score of zero for the assignment, while those who were caught received a D- grade, among other academic penalties.

The student council recently sent a letter of protest to the professor in charge, stating that the standards for determining AI use were unclear. Park Kyungsoo, Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Seoul National University, who taught the course, responded via a class notice, stating, "All of the penalized students have acknowledged their actions," and asked, "What clearer evidence could there be than a student's own admission?"

He also asked, "What is the student council's position on AI-related academic misconduct widespread throughout the Department of Computer Science and Engineering courses?" and requested, "Please let me know what efforts are being made for self-regulation."

This course, aimed at fourth-year students in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, covers the principles and implementation and operation of computer networks, and reportedly required coding to complete the assignments.

According to the syllabus posted before the semester began, Professor Park announced, "To cultivate students’ original problem-solving skills and critical thinking, all coursework will be conducted without the use of generative AI."

During the semester, Professor Park discovered evidence that many students used AI in their assignment submissions. He stated, "I instructed students who used AI to self-report, and at the end of the semester, interviewed all enrolled students to identify additional AI users."

This is not the first time controversy has arisen at Seoul National University over student use of AI. In October of last year, several students were found to have used AI to solve questions on a 'Statistics Lab' midterm exam in a general education course, resulting in all exam results being invalidated. Additionally, during the same semester, almost half of the 36 students in another general education course offered by the College of Natural Sciences were reportedly involved in academic misconduct during the final exam.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.