'God of studying' warns AI cheating already widespread ahead of college entrance exam

Kang Sung-tae, CEO of Gongsin.com. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse) provided]

Remarks by Kang Sung-tae, CEO of Gongsin.com and widely known as the "god of studying," are drawing renewed attention after the top scorer on a national tax accountant exam confessed to cheating with AI — with Kang warning that the use of AI-equipped glasses to cheat on exams has already spread widely.

On Saturday, Kang posted a video to his YouTube channel "Gongsin Kang Sung-tae," saying, "If one case is discovered, do you really think that's the first? The ones who didn't get caught are dozens of times more." He added, "A significant number of people have already passed exams through cheating."

Kang also warned that cheating would occur on this year's college entrance exam. "I only hope this video gets out there and we can somehow stop it," he said.

He pointed to gaps in how exam venues screen eyewear, saying, "Right now they're only checking thick-rimmed frames. Metal frames get a free pass. There are far too many AI glasses not yet known in Korea."

Kang recalled first encountering Google Glass about 15 years ago when he visited a friend's dormitory at Stanford University, where the friend was pursuing a doctorate. "Cheating through glasses was already a foregone conclusion. It was already possible to photograph and leak exam questions. I'm only surprised it's become an issue now," he said.

"Our students repeat the exam year after year just to get one killer question right," Kang said. "Even after 12 years of studying and spending an average of more than 100 million won ($72,000) on private tutoring, an elementary schooler wearing AI glasses can solve problems better." He added, "No one has made Korean students study as hard as I have. I found myself wondering what the point of all that hardship was."

An illustration of an exam taker wearing AI smart glasses during a test. [AI-generated image]

Kang also revealed that his bestselling book "Kang Sung-tae's 66-Day English Conversation" was produced with AI assistance. He said he used a GPT model before ChatGPT's public release to write the book. "It became a top bestseller, but surprisingly, I didn't write it," he said.

"Working on that book, I became certain: AI and humans will inevitably become one," he said, describing the confusion he felt at the time. "I questioned whether I had the right to teach, whether I could even dare tell students to study."

Kang resumed his YouTube activity in late 2023 and posted a series of videos warning that a "singularity" was coming in which AI would replace human jobs, but the response at the time was poor.

"Back then, if you searched my name, 'cult' and 'mental illness' came up as related search terms," he said. "I thought ranting on YouTube wasn't going to work — I needed to show people directly — so I founded a social venture."

Kang is developing an app that uses AI to assess whether users are concentrating, backed by investment from Seoul National University Technology Holdings. "I hope this controversy doesn't stop at cheating," he said. "We need to start a truly fundamental discussion about what exams mean, and what education and studying should really look like."

The day after Kang's video was posted, on Sunday, the top scorer on the 63rd national tax accountant exam submitted a written confession to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

Police launched an investigation Sunday after receiving a written confession from the top scorer on the 63rd national tax accountant exam, who admitted to cheating using AI. The suspect appeared on a lawyer's YouTube channel and said, "I cheated using electronic devices and generative AI on both the first and second rounds of the exam," adding, "I wrote everything I did in a confession and submitted it to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency." Pictured is the top scorer on the tax accountant exam. [Yonhap]

Appearing on the YouTube channel of a legal representative, the suspect said, "I used a miniature camera to photograph the exam questions, transmitted them via AI, and checked the answers on a smartphone." The suspect admitted to using the same method on both rounds of the tax accountant exam and on the first round of the certified public accountant exam.

The suspect answered 159 out of 160 questions correctly on the first round of the tax accountant exam and scored 100 points in the introduction to tax law section, where the average score among test-takers was 30.18. Police assigned the case to a wide-area investigation unit and launched a probe.

Cheong Wa Dae convened an emergency meeting the same day, chaired by policy chief Ha Jun-kyung, to prevent the spread of AI-assisted cheating on national exams and decided to conduct a comprehensive review of suspected AI cheating cases across all national certification exams.

For the 2027 college entrance exam to be held Thursday, authorities will inspect all test-takers for AI devices and station dedicated personnel at every exam venue.

The Ministry of Education has designated AI-enabled smart glasses as prohibited items starting with this year's exam. The government also convened a deputy minister-level meeting of related ministries, chaired by the prime minister, to discuss additional measures.

Born in 1983, Kang graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering and built his public profile running Gongsin.com, a free online lecture platform. He has appeared on several study-related television programs, including MBC's "Gongbu-ui Jewang."

dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com