"Insisting 'Guessing Is a Skill'... Top Tax Accountant Exam Scorer Confesses, Netizens Call It 'Unprecedented Deception'"
Assigned to Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Metropolitan Investigation Unit the day confession was received
Also confessed to cheating on the first round of the CPA exam
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Metropolitan Investigation Unit will directly investigate the case of the top scorer in the 63rd Certified Tax Accountant Examination, who passed a national qualification exam by abusing generative artificial intelligence (AI) and a miniature camera.
Han Wonseok, who ranked first in the 63rd Certified Tax Accountant Examination, admitted to cheating with AI. Screenshot from attorney Lee Donho's YouTube channel.
View original imageOn November 15, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it had received a written confession to cheating that morning from Han Wonseok’s legal representative and immediately assigned the case to the Metropolitan Investigation Unit. A police official said, “We plan to investigate the case swiftly and thoroughly in accordance with procedure.”
That day, Han appeared wearing a mask on the YouTube channel of his attorney, Lee Donho, head of Nova Law Firm, and admitted to the crime. He confessed that he used a miniature camera to photograph question papers for both the first- and second-stage Certified Tax Accountant exams, as well as the first-stage Certified Public Accountant exam, then sent the images to AI and received answers on his smartphone. He also plans to submit to investigators the remaining devices and related materials, including some damaged equipment. However, he declined to discuss the specific steps he took, citing concerns that others might imitate the crime.
Just four days earlier, Han had strongly denied the allegations in the media, saying, “If you can get these questions right with AI glasses, why study?” That day, he apologized and acknowledged that all of his previous explanations had been false. He also reversed his earlier insistence that “even guessing is a skill” when addressing his first-stage score of 397.5 out of 400, with one incorrect answer out of 160 questions.
With the Prime Minister’s Office stressing a zero-tolerance response and calls for a retest mounting among test takers and others, criticism of lax supervision by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, the agency responsible for administering the exam, is intensifying.
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The agency said that supervisors had found nothing unusual, and that it is having experts closely compare Han’s written answers to the second-stage exam for handwriting and writing style. It also plans to expand the deployment of “AI Inspectors,” dedicated staff for detecting cheating, first introduced for last month’s practical Gas Engineer exam, and to develop comprehensive measures with the relevant government ministries.
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