Wearing AI glasses at college entrance exam counts as cheating, carries one-year ban

Students caught wearing AI-enabled smart glasses during the College Scholastic Ability Test will have their results invalidated and be barred from sitting the following year's test.

Even simply bringing smart glasses into an exam venue — without wearing them — is enough to void a student's results. Refusing a proctor's request to inspect one's glasses can also be treated as a serious cheating offense following a review.

The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation posted the "2027 CSAT Examinee Guidelines" along with an explanatory video on its website Thursday, according to Yonhap.

The guidelines explicitly list "smart glasses" among items banned from exam venues, stating that wearing wireless devices such as smart glasses or smartwatches during the test — even without using them — will result in invalidation of that year's exam and a one-year suspension of eligibility to sit the following year's test, if the devices are not surrendered before the first session begins.

The institute said the offense falls under Article 19, Clause 3 of the Ministry of Education's CSAT administration regulations, which governs cheating.

Bringing smart glasses or other smart devices into an exam venue, or simply possessing them there, constitutes a separate violation under Clause 9 of the same article, the institute said, and will result in invalidation of that year's exam.

The institute also emphasized in the guidelines that refusing a proctor's request to check smart glasses or other smart devices "may be treated as a serious cheating offense equivalent to Clause 3, following a review."

It added that "proctors may observe and request confirmation of smart glasses by checking the examinee's identity, verifying permissible watches, and using exam time," and that "when a proctor requests a check, the examinee must remove their glasses, place them on the desk, and cooperate with the proctor's inspection."

In effect, any student who refuses to comply with a proctor's verification procedure for smart glasses during the exam may be deemed to have cheated.

Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin said at a National Assembly education committee national audit on Oct. 7 that students caught cheating with smart glasses would be stripped of their eligibility to sit the CSAT not only for that year but for the following year as well.

The education authorities' decision to impose strict sanctions on smart glasses at the CSAT reflects growing concern over AI-enabled eyewear.

In May, a test-taker was caught wearing smart glasses during a regular TOEIC administration held in South Korea and was penalized for cheating.

More recently, a string of cheating incidents involving smart glasses occurred at university admissions essay exams.

Yonsei University caught a student wearing smart glasses during a mathematics essay exam for natural sciences and integrated studies held at its Sinchon campus in Seoul on Saturday.

A student wearing smart glasses was also caught at the University of Seoul's natural sciences essay exam on Oct. 3.

The University of Seoul immediately removed the student from the exam room and banned them from sitting any of its exams for three years.

The Ministry of Education said Thursday it plans to send all four-year universities nationwide a set of "CSAT proctor guidelines" covering how to identify and inspect smart glasses.

Some have raised concerns that proctors will face a heavier burden as they are now expected to check whether examinees are wearing smart glasses.

The Secondary Teachers' Labor Union said Thursday it would launch a nationwide teacher petition drive, calling for reforms to a system that places excessive responsibility for managing risks during the CSAT on individual secondary school teachers.

The union urged the Ministry of Education, the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, and provincial and metropolitan offices of education to "secure the time and support staff needed for additional supervisory duties such as checking AI devices, and to clearly define the procedures and responsible parties for identifying and judging suspicious situations," noting that "teachers have already been carrying out a wide range of tasks, including cleaning and preparing exam rooms, checking broadcasting equipment and facilities, conducting pre-exam briefings, and supervising for extended periods."