Han Won-seok, first place in the 63rd tax accountant exam, admits to cheating with generative AI and electronic devices

Han Won-seok, who placed first in the 63rd tax accountant exam, admitted on November 15 through lawyer Lee Don-ho's YouTube channel that he cheated using electronic devices and generative AI in the first and second tax accountant exams and the first certified public accountant exam, and has submitted a self-report to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. He described the cheating method as photographing exam questions with a miniature camera and sending them to AI, then checking the answers on a smartphone; some devices were damaged, and the remaining evidence will be submitted to investigators, with the relevant list included with the self-report. He said the first place was not the result of legitimate effort, apologized to the second-place examinee who should actually have been first, and expressed remorse for denying the allegations in media interviews when they first surfaced, saying he will cooperate truthfully with the investigation. Discussing the background to the cheating, he mentioned past business failures and financial hardship, and wanting to make his parents proud again.