A young man who once stood at the top of a rigorous national examination has now stepped out from behind his denials to admit that his brilliance was borrowed from a hidden camera and a machine. In the quiet arithmetic of fairness, where thousands labour through the same papers under the same clock, one perfect result cast a long shadow over everyone else's effort. His written confession now sits with Seoul police, and with it a question older than any exam: what does it mean to earn a place when the measure itself has been secretly bent?
South Korea's Top Tax Accountant Exam Scorer Confesses to AI-Assisted Cheating
Scores that high under that pace raised suspicion among those who sat the same papers.
Mark
Why does this case matter beyond one man cheating?
Mimi
Because the exam is a gate. Only 722 of 6,606 second-round candidates passed, about 11 per cent, so every place counts.
Mark
What first made people suspicious?
Mimi
The tax law score. He got a perfect mark in a subject where 16,856 candidates averaged 30.18, and nearly three quarters scored under 40.
Luke
Worth saying that the scores alone proved nothing. The confession is what confirms it.
Mark
And what exactly has he confessed to?
Mimi
A miniature camera to photograph questions, an AI tool to answer them, and a smartphone to read the answers. He says he did the same in the March CPA first round.
Luke
That's his account, delivered in a video on his lawyer's channel. We don't yet know what police have found independently.
Mark
He had denied it before, hadn't he?
Mimi
Yes. He said he was just an ordinary student and asked why anyone would study if AI glasses could answer everything.
Luke
And what happens to his results, or others' rankings? The reporting doesn't say. Nothing about penalties or a formal review is confirmed yet.
Mark
So what should we watch?
Mimi
The police investigation, the association's request, and the prime minister's zero-tolerance pledge.
El Pulso
- A single perfect tax law score, far beyond a field where most candidates averaged about 30, set off suspicion among people who had sat the same papers.
- Han Won-seok first insisted he was an ordinary student and asked why a high score should make him a suspect, then reversed course within days.
- A hidden miniature camera, an AI tool and a smartphone were described as the method, with the confession filed with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
- The prime minister promised zero tolerance, the tax accountants' association asked for an investigation, and the police and regulators now face a review of the 2026 results.
A young man who once stood at the top of a rigorous national examination has now stepped out from behind his denials to admit that his brilliance was borrowed from a hidden camera and a machine. In the quiet arithmetic of fairness, where thousands labour through the same papers under the same clock, one perfect result cast a long shadow over everyone else's effort. His written confession now sits with Seoul police, and with it a question older than any exam: what does it mean to earn a place when the measure itself has been secretly bent?
On November 15, a masked man appeared in a video posted to his lawyer's YouTube channel and admitted that he had cheated. Han Won-seok, 34, had placed first in South Korea's 2026 tax accountant qualification exam, and he said he had written out a full confession for the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. He apologised for the harm he had done to so many people.
He described the method without ornament: a miniature camera to photograph the questions, an AI tool to find the answers, and a smartphone to read them. He said he had done the same in March, during the first round of the certified public accountant exam. His April scores had seemed to mark him as exceptional, with 159 of 160 multiple-choice answers correct and a perfect mark in tax law, a subject where nearly three-quarters of candidates had failed to reach 40.
Those numbers had not gone unnoticed. Under a pace of about a minute per question, scores like his looked impossible to fellow candidates. Han first rejected the allegations, calling himself an ordinary student who had passed only weeks earlier. Days later the prime minister promised zero tolerance for exam cheating, and the tax accountants' association asked the authorities to investigate.
For the other candidates, the stakes are concrete. Only 722 of 6,606 people who sat the second round passed. Now the police hold his statement, and the review of the 2026 results will decide what becomes of a title that was never fairly his.
In a video posted on November 15 to his lawyer's YouTube channel, a 34-year-old man in a mask told viewers he had cheated. Han Won-seok, who had placed first in South Korea's 2026 tax accountant qualification exam, said he had submitted a written confession to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency setting out everything he did. He apologised for the harm to what he called so many people. The channel belongs to his attorney, Lee Don-ho.
Han described the method plainly. He used a miniature camera to photograph the exam questions, sent the images to an AI tool, and read the answers on a smartphone. He also said he used the same approach in March, on the first round of the certified public accountant exam.
The scores that made him a standout had been public. In an account of his preparation published by the Tax and Finance Newspaper, Han said he scored 397.5 out of 400 in the first round of the 63rd tax accountant exam in April. He answered 159 of 160 multiple-choice questions correctly. He earned perfect marks in three of four subjects: introductory tax law, introductory accounting and commercial law. In public finance he scored 97.5.
The tax law result drew the most attention. According to grading statistics from the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, 16,856 test takers averaged only 30.18 points in that subject, and 74.21 per cent scored under 40, the minimum needed to avoid failing it. Han's perfect mark sat far outside that distribution. He also took first place in the written second round, averaging 82.87 out of 100 against a passing cut-off of 49.75.
The time limits sharpened the doubts of fellow candidates. Each session gives 80 minutes for 80 questions across two subjects, about a minute per question, with marking time included. Scores that high under that pace raised suspicion among those who had sat the same papers.
Han initially rejected the allegations in a media interview. He called himself an ordinary student, noted that it had not been a month since he passed, and asked why a high score should make him a suspect. If AI glasses could answer every question correctly, he asked, why would anyone bother studying?
The confession followed moves by officials and the profession. On November 13, Prime Minister Han Seong-sook promised zero tolerance for exam cheating, citing the recent allegations. The Korean Association of Certified Tax Accountants asked the relevant authorities to investigate.
The stakes for other candidates are concrete. In 2026, 722 of the 6,606 people who sat the second round passed, a rate of 10.92 per cent. What happens next rests with the police, who now hold Han's written statement, and with whatever review the authorities make of the 2026 results.
Citas Notables
I sincerely apologise for the harm my actions have caused to so many people.— Han Won-seok, in a video posted Nov 15
Vowed zero tolerance toward exam cheating.— Prime Minister Han Seong-sook, Nov 13
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