South Korea’s Office for Government Policy Coordination promised zero tolerance on 13 November for cheating with AI glasses in the College Scholastic Ability Test, the nationwide university entrance exam scheduled for 19 November. The office said specialist staff would be sent to exam sites and that cheaters could face criminal complaints, Yonhap reported. Its statement followed suspicions concerning a near-perfect score in the certified tax accountant exam.
Key points
- The Office for Government Policy Coordination says it will take a zero-tolerance approach to AI-glasses cheating in the 19 November entrance exam.
- Specialist personnel will look for the devices at test sites, and the office says cheating could lead to criminal complaints.
- Seoul has trained 239 staff members to recognise smart glasses, but proctors have no dedicated radio-wave detectors for this year’s exam.
- President Lee Jae-myung has requested measures against smart-device cheating across exams run by the state, public institutions and schools.
Lee seeks safeguards across state-run exams
President Lee Jae-myung had called for wider measures at a senior secretaries’ meeting at the Blue House on 5 November. He asked officials to strengthen proctor training and on-site responses to cheating with smart glasses, Chosun Biz reported. Lee also requested safeguards for proctors facing improper complaints while carrying out inspections. His instruction extended beyond the college entrance test: he wanted measures prepared swiftly for exams administered by the state, public institutions and schools at every level.
That request places much of the immediate work with the people supervising candidates in exam rooms. Lee called for training to improve their ability to prevent cheating and for stronger responses at test sites. His concern about complaints also bears on how staff distinguish a permitted pair of spectacles from a prohibited device when examining a candidate. The Seoul education authority’s preparations put that distinction in the hands of staff assigned to spot smart glasses.
Seoul trains 239 staff to inspect glasses
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education trained all 239 staff assigned specifically to smart-glasses checks at the city’s exam sites on 11 November, Seoul Economic Daily reported. Staff examined actual devices and learnt features that could help identify them. The office described thicker arms housing a chip, a camera lens on the frame or above the nose bridge, and charging ports or openings for speakers and microphones as signs to inspect. Staff are expected to check frame shape and these features on exam day.
For this year’s exam, proctors must identify smart glasses by sight because they have not been given dedicated radio-wave detectors. The Seoul office withheld details of its training because it feared the material could help people plan cheating. Its staff must therefore apply what they learnt during inspections without the dedicated detection equipment described in the report.
Teachers have raised concerns about that task. In a Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union survey of 2,716 middle and high school teachers, 82.3% said the Ministry of Education’s monitoring procedures alone made it difficult to decide whether a candidate was wearing smart glasses. Another 64.4% worried about complaints or disputes if ordinary glasses were mistaken for smart glasses. The Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations called for clearer verification standards, response procedures and protection for proctors dealing with complaints.
Tax accountant score prompts government response
The government’s 13 November announcement came amid suspicions about the highest scorer in this year’s certified tax accountant exam. That candidate missed one of 160 questions in the first-round test and received 397.5 points out of a possible 400, Yonhap reported. The result prompted concern about possible use of AI glasses in the college entrance test. The score is the basis of the reported suspicion, not an established finding that the candidate used a device.
The Office for Government Policy Coordination said it would seek to resolve the tax-exam suspicions, including by requesting an investigation. If cheating is confirmed, it said the government would pursue accountability under relevant laws and regulations. For the college entrance exam, the office described cheating with AI smart glasses as an infringement of students’ fair opportunities and pledged to deal sternly with offenders, including through criminal complaints.
The Office for Government Policy Coordination will deploy specialist personnel to look for AI glasses at College Scholastic Ability Test sites on 19 November.
