Top tax accountant exam scorer admits to cheating using AI

The Korea Times - Nov 15, 2026

The top scorer in Korea’s recent tax accountant qualification examination admitted Sunday that he used generative artificial intelligence (AI) and a camera to cheat, reversing his earlier denials after his unusually high marks drew public scrutiny. “I cheated on the tax accountant examination,” Han Won-seok said on the YouTube channel run by his lawyer Lee Don-ho. “I sincerely apologize for the harm my wrongdoing has caused so many people.” Han’s results attracted attention because he answered 159 of the 160 questions correctly in the first-stage tax accountant examination in April, scoring 397.5 out of 400. Three months later, he scored 663 out of 800 in the second-stage written examination and was named the overall top scorer. His exceptionally high scores had fueled online speculation about possible cheating. Experts, including licensed tax accountants and tax lawyers, argued that the near-perfect score in the first test was “close to impossible,” suggesting that he might have used AI smart glasses. It turned out Han’s cheating method was not AI glasses. He said he i

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