Korea sees first criminal charge over cheating using AI smart glasses

A man was charged after allegedly using AI-powered smart glasses on a national licensing exam, prompting officials to tighten test security.

A man taking a fire engineer exam has become the first person in the country to face criminal prosecution for cheating on a national licensing exam using AI-powered glasses, according to legal sources on Monday.

The Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office indicted the man last month on charges of violating the National Technical Qualifications Act. The case is the first in Korea in which the use of AI-powered smart glasses to cheat has led to criminal charges.

In May, the suspect was caught cheating during a state-run exam for a fire protection engineer license at a testing center in Gwangju after a proctor noticed an unusual light reflected in the lenses of his smart glasses.

"I developed an AI application that works with the smart glasses and wanted to see whether it could generate correct answers in a real exam," the suspect told investigators.

He was not the only case.

In the same month, two men were also booked after attempting to cheat using AI-powered smart glasses at national qualification exam sites in Seoul and Mokpo, South Jeolla.

Similar cases have also emerged in the Test of English for International Communication, with two test-takers caught using AI-powered smart glasses in May and one more in June.

The string of new cheating cases has prompted authorities to move quickly to tighten exam security.

Officials from state licensing exam administrators convened an emergency meeting last Friday to consider explicitly adding AI smart glasses to the list of prohibited items at testing centers. They are also discussing tougher penalties for violators and other measures to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated cheating methods.