A young man who had claimed the top prize in South Korea's tax accountant examination has now stood before the public and confessed that his excellence was borrowed from a hidden camera and a machine. In an age when knowledge can be summoned at a glance, the old bargain between effort and reward is being tested in a quiet exam hall, where a single unusual score once drew suspicion from fellow candidates who had laboured through the same questions. The confession, offered through a lawyer's video and a formal statement to police, turns a triumph into a question about what certification is meant
Top Korean tax accountant exam scorer confesses to AI-assisted cheating after police probe
"If AI glasses could answer every question correctly, why would anyone bother studying?"
Mark
Why did this one score draw so much attention?
Mimi
Because it sat so far from everyone else's. In introductory tax law the average was 30.18, and about 74% of 16,856 candidates scored under 40. Han got a perfect score.
Mark
Was that enough on its own to prove anything?
Luke
No. A high score alone is not proof, and Han made that argument himself. What changed things is his own written confession to police.
Mark
What did he say he actually did?
Mimi
He photographed the questions with a miniature camera, sent them to an AI tool, and read the answers on a smartphone. He says he did the same in the March CPA first round.
Mark
Why does the time limit matter here?
Mimi
Eighty questions in eighty minutes leaves about a minute each, including marking. That made a near-flawless result look implausible to other candidates.
Luke
Worth noting that's the suspicion, not the evidence. The confession is the evidence, and we have it through his lawyer's video, not a police statement.
Mark
So what is still unknown?
Luke
Whether he faces charges, what penalties apply, and whether anyone else was involved. The reporting doesn't say, and police haven't been quoted.
Mimi
And he had denied it in an interview shortly before, asking why anyone would study if AI glasses could answer everything.
Mark
What comes next?
Luke
The investigation, and whether the prime minister's zero-tolerance pledge leads to concrete changes. None are described yet.
El Pulso
- A candidate's near-perfect score stood in stark contrast to the struggles of thousands of peers, and that gap began to unsettle the whole examination.
- Han first dismissed the allegations as unfair, then within days reversed course and admitted to photographing questions and consulting AI on a smartphone.
- The prime minister promised zero tolerance for exam cheating, while the accountants' association pressed authorities to investigate.
- Police inquiries now move toward possible prosecution, and officials face pressure to tighten security before the next certification round.
A young man who had claimed the top prize in South Korea's tax accountant examination has now stood before the public and confessed that his excellence was borrowed from a hidden camera and a machine. In an age when knowledge can be summoned at a glance, the old bargain between effort and reward is being tested in a quiet exam hall, where a single unusual score once drew suspicion from fellow candidates who had laboured through the same questions. The confession, offered through a lawyer's video and a formal statement to police, turns a triumph into a question about what certification is meant to prove.
On November 15, a 34-year-old man appeared in a video on his lawyer's YouTube channel, his face partly covered by a mask. Han Won-seok, the top scorer in South Korea's 2026 tax accountant qualification exam, told viewers he had given police a detailed written confession. He apologised for the harm his actions had caused to many people.
He described the method without ornament. He had photographed the exam questions with a miniature camera, sent them to an AI tool, and read the answers on a smartphone. He admitted he had done the same in March, in the first round of the certified public accountant exam.
The confession contradicts what he had said only weeks earlier. He had celebrated near-perfect marks, including a perfect score in introductory tax law where most candidates struggled to pass. When fellow test takers raised doubts, he insisted he was an ordinary student and asked why a high score should make him a suspect. Within days, the authorities had stepped in, and the confession followed.
The weight of the case reaches beyond one candidate. Only about one in nine who sat the second round passed, so every place was hard won. What comes next depends on the police inquiry and on whether the prime minister's promise of zero tolerance leads to stronger safeguards for future exams.
On November 15, a 34-year-old man appeared in a video on his lawyer's YouTube channel with a mask covering part of his face and said he had put everything in writing for the police. Han Won-seok, the top scorer in South Korea's 2026 tax accountant qualification exam, told viewers he had submitted a detailed confession to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. He apologised for the harm his actions had caused to 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 them to an AI tool, and read the answers on a smartphone. He also admitted using the same approach in March, in the first round of the certified public accountant exam.
The confession reverses what he said earlier. In an account of his exam preparation published by the Tax and Finance Newspaper, Han revealed that he had scored 397.5 out of 400 in the first round of the 63rd tax accountant exam, held in April. He answered 159 of the 160 multiple-choice questions correctly. He earned perfect scores in introductory tax law, introductory accounting and commercial law, and 97.5 in public finance.
The numbers drew attention because of how the subjects had gone for everyone else. In introductory tax law, 16,856 test takers averaged just 30.18 points, according to grading statistics from the Human Resources Development Service of Korea. About 74.21% scored below 40, the minimum needed to avoid failing the subject. Han got full marks. He also ranked first in the written second-round exam, averaging 82.87 out of 100, against a passing cut-off of 49.75.
The exam's time limits sharpened the suspicion among fellow candidates. Each session gives 80 minutes to answer 80 questions across two subjects, which leaves about a minute per question, including the time to mark answers.
Han initially rejected the allegations in a media interview. He said he was an ordinary student who had passed less than a month earlier, and asked why a high score should make him a suspect. "If AI glasses could answer every question correctly, why would anyone bother studying?" he said.
Then the institutions moved. On November 13, Prime Minister Han Seong-sook pledged a zero-tolerance approach to exam cheating, citing the recent allegations. The Korean Association of Certified Tax Accountants asked the relevant authorities to investigate. Two days later came the confession.
The stakes extend beyond one candidate. In 2026, 722 of the 6,606 people who sat the second round passed, a rate of 10.92%. Each place in that group was contested against a field where roughly one in nine succeeded. What happens next rests with the police investigation, which could lead to prosecution, and with whether the prime minister's pledge translates into tighter security at future certification exams.
Citas Notables
I submitted a written confession to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency detailing everything I did.— Han Won-seok, in a video on his attorney's YouTube channel
Prime Minister Han Seong-sook vowed on Nov 13 to take a zero-tolerance approach to exam cheating.— Reported statement, South Korean Prime Minister Han Seong-sook
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Lee el original en The Straits Times ↗