Han Won-seok [Lee Don-ho attorney YouTube channel]
Han Won-seok [Lee Don-ho attorney YouTube channel]

Han Won-seok, who topped this year's 63rd tax accountant licensing exam with an unusually high score that had drawn cheating allegations, has turned himself in to police and admitted to using AI to cheat. He also confessed to cheating on the certified public accountant exam.

Han appeared Sunday on the YouTube channel of his legal representative, Lee Don-ho, managing attorney at law firm Nova, and said, "I cheated on the tax accountant exam. I sincerely apologize to the many people harmed by my actions." He added that he had written everything he did in a self-report and submitted it to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

"I used electronic devices and generative AI to cheat on both the first and second stages of the tax accountant exam," Han said. "My top score was not the result of honest effort." He also disclosed that he had cheated on the first stage of the CPA exam using the same method.

Han explained that he photographed exam questions using a miniature camera, transmitted them via AI and checked the answers on a smartphone. He said he would not disclose the specific steps involved, however, in order to prevent similar cheating.

Asked why he cheated, Han said he had not saved much money while working and that a self-employed venture after leaving his job had not gone well. "I wanted to earn a lot of money, and I wanted to pass a professional licensing exam and make my parents proud again," he said. "But starting in my early-to-mid 30s, everything felt overwhelming and I was gripped by fear and anxiety." He added, "I wanted to make my parents proud again, even if it meant cheating."

Han's cheating has intensified questions about whether the tax accountant exam was conducted properly. "I am deeply sorry that other successful candidates are now under suspicion because of me," he said. "I sincerely apologize again to the examinees who prepared diligently over a long time, and to those who passed the exam through legitimate effort."

Han also pledged to cooperate fully with efforts to prevent cheating at future licensing exams, the college entrance exam and all other tests. "I will tell the investigative authorities everything about the process I prepared and practiced," he said. "I hope, presumptuous as it may be, that this can be of some help in preventing cheating."

Han had answered all but one of the 160 questions on the first-stage exam correctly, scoring 397.5 out of a perfect 400. He stood out in particular in the introduction to tax law, a notoriously difficult subject where the average score among all test-takers was just 30.18 — Han alone received a perfect score, while the second-place finisher scored in the 80s. He also recorded 663 out of 800 on the second stage.

Once his exceptional scores became known, some online communities raised suspicions that he had used AI smart glasses during the exam.

The Human Resources Development Service of Korea, which administers the exam, said it found no irregularities in the conduct of the test or the grading of the first stage. The agency said it had checked with all four exam supervisors who oversaw Han's first- and second-stage sittings, and none reported any suspicious behavior or unusual circumstances, including the use of smart glasses.

The tax accountant exam is a national licensing exam conducted by the minister of the Ministry of Finance and Economy under the Certified Tax Accountant Act, with day-to-day operations delegated to the Human Resources Development Service of Korea. If cheating is confirmed, the minister may invalidate the exam results and bar the individual from sitting for five years.


paq@heraldcorp.com