AI cheating scandal prompts full review of all national licensing exams this year

The government will launch a sweeping probe into all national licensing examinations held this year after AI-assisted cheating was discovered in the certified tax accountant exam.

Authorities plan to move swiftly to nullify the exams of those involved, cancel their passing scores, bar them from sitting any national licensing exam for five years and refer them for criminal prosecution. Supervision at exam venues will also be tightened, with radio-wave detectors to be introduced and the number of dedicated monitoring officials expanded.

South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRD Korea) held an emergency meeting Sunday at 4:30 p.m., chaired by Vice Minister of Employment and Labor Kwon Chang-jun, to map out follow-up measures in response to AI-assisted cheating discovered in the 63rd certified tax accountant examination.

The government has determined that the incident poses a serious threat to the integrity of national licensing exams and has decided to broaden the scope of its investigation. Based on patterns identified in the suspected cases uncovered so far, authorities will immediately examine all national licensing exams administered this year to determine whether AI-assisted cheating occurred.

For those found to have cheated using AI in the tax accountant exam, the government will swiftly pursue exam nullification, cancellation of passing results, a five-year ban on sitting national licensing exams and criminal referral. The ministry and HRD Korea also pledged full cooperation with the police investigation.

A tip-off channel will be set up to identify additional cases of cheating. HRD Korea plans to open both online and offline reporting centers to receive complaints about cheating in national licensing exams, including the use of AI devices.

Measures to prevent advanced devices from being brought into or used at exam venues will also be strengthened. Authorities said they will move quickly to deploy additional countermeasures, including radio-wave detectors currently under development by the Korea Radio Promotion Agency.

Test-takers will receive clearer guidance on the prohibition against bringing in or using smart devices — including smart glasses — and on the penalties for violations. Proctors will receive more training on how to identify such devices and respond appropriately, and the deployment of dedicated "AI inspectors" — supervisors assigned specifically to each exam venue in addition to regular proctors — will be expanded.

The ministry and HRD Korea will form a joint task force to conduct a comprehensive review of the certification system across all national licensing exams, with a full anti-cheating plan to be finalized by year-end.

Sunday's emergency meeting was a follow-up to an earlier urgent session held the same day at 3:30 p.m., chaired by Cheong Wa Dae Policy Chief Ha Jun-kyung, on preventing the spread of AI-assisted exam cheating.

At that meeting, Ha directed officials to examine the distribution of equipment used in cheating — such as miniature cameras — and to find ways to encourage more tip-offs. Ha particularly stressed the principle of "tracking down and catching past offenders no matter what," and instructed all relevant ministries to develop fundamental measures to prevent a recurrence of cheating involving AI and other emerging technologies.

The ministry and HRD Korea said they will periodically review the progress of the measures and focus their efforts on ensuring the initiatives take effect.