Deputy PM, predecessor filed with police over AI cheating scandal in tax accountant exam

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Lee Hyung-il and former Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol have been filed with police on charges of dereliction of duty in connection with an AI cheating scandal involving the top scorer of the national tax accountant licensing exam. Lee Jong-bae, a former Seoul city council member of the People Power Party, said Sunday he submitted a complaint to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency that morning.

Lee said in the complaint that if cheating using AI smart glasses and similar devices had been repeatedly detected at exams administered by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea — the body entrusted to run the test — the minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as the delegating authority, should have taken steps to review and strengthen the oversight system in response to that risk.

"If cheating using AI devices was sufficiently foreseeable and yet the minister neglected supervisory responsibilities and failed to issue the necessary instructions or take corrective action, that constitutes dereliction of duty," Lee said, adding that an investigation was needed into what reporting, consultations, directives and corrective measures had taken place between the ministry and the Human Resources Development Service.

The tax accountant exam is a national licensing examination administered by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea under government delegation. The first and second rounds of the exam taken by the top scorer are understood to have been held in April and July this year. Lee Hyung-il took office on Sept. 22, while Koo stepped down from the deputy prime minister post in September after 14 months in the role.

On the same day, police accepted a voluntary confession from the top scorer of the 63rd tax accountant examination, who admitted to cheating with AI, and launched an investigation. The Ministry of Economy and Finance said it is reviewing whether to suspend the validity of the candidate's passing certificate. "We are at the stage of reviewing a suspension in accordance with established procedures," a ministry official said. The Tax Accountant Qualification Review Committee under the National Tax Service plans to hold a meeting soon to decide whether to proceed with the suspension.