South Korea is overhauling the rules for technical qualification exams after five candidates were caught cheating with AI-powered smart glasses in just over two months.

Opposition politician Kim So-hee disclosed the May and June cases through data submitted to the Human Resources Development Service of Korea. Examiners in Gwangju and Daegu picked up a glow or electronic hum from the eyewear. Elsewhere, a Mokpo candidate tapped a button that flashed a blue display onto a lens, and a Seoul proctor found a camera lens embedded in frames during an information processing engineer test.

The fallout extended beyond the exam hall. Three of the five cases reached prosecutors, and one set precedent: a man in his forties became the first person charged under the National Technical Qualification Act for AI glasses cheating, after examiners spotted light reflecting off his lenses during a fire protection engineer certification test in Gwangju.

Smart glasses are not explicitly named on the current list of banned devices, which covers phones, digital cameras, and camera-equipped pens. The Labour Ministry says it plans broader language so new devices can be restricted without rewriting the rules each time. A public notice process starts in September, with the revision hoped to be complete within the year.

Similar problems have hit other exams. The TOPIK Korean language test administrator installed radio-frequency and metal detectors at all domestic centers in April, and school offices in Gyeonggi and Seoul have circulated guides on spotting AI glasses. A viral video showed a YouTuber solving a practice college entrance math test with smart glasses in 18 minutes, scoring 96 out of 100.

Source: South China Morning Post