Bar exam with 50.95% pass rate now under threat from AI glasses, Ministry of Justice to issue guidelines this month

Even the bar exam — with a pass rate of 50.95% this year — is now under threat from AI-enabled glasses, prompting the Ministry of Justice to prepare guidelines ahead of the January sitting.

The move comes after a string of cheating incidents involving AI glasses were detected at university entrance essay exams and national qualification tests.

According to Yonhap, the Ministry of Justice plans to announce guidelines for examinees and proctors on AI glasses by mid-November, ahead of the 16th bar exam scheduled for January.

The guidelines are expected to build on electronic device rules used during the legal ethics exam held in August.

The legal ethics exam, also administered by the Ministry of Justice, is a prerequisite for sitting the bar exam.

Proctor guidelines at that exam included instructing examinees before the test began — via announcement and verbal notice — to surrender smart glasses and other electronic devices, conducting seat-by-seat inspections, monitoring for electronic device use from the front and back of the exam room, and checking for devices when examinees left for the restroom during the test.

The ministry also plans to strengthen training for proctors on the types and functions of AI glasses to sharpen their awareness.

If AI glasses are detected on exam day, the ministry said it will confiscate the device and suspend the examinee's test after investigating the circumstances, and will pursue stronger measures where necessary — including disqualification from future sittings and criminal charges.

"We plan to comprehensively review budget, technological capabilities and exam venue conditions before deciding whether to introduce radio-frequency detectors capable of identifying glasses," a ministry official said.

Last month, examinees at Yonsei University and the University of Seoul were caught switching from regular glasses to AI glasses after pre-exam checks had been completed. Five cases of cheating using AI glasses at national qualification tests have been reported this year.