Former and Current Finance Ministers Face Police Complaint Over 'Neglect of Direction and Oversight' in AI Cheating on Tax Accountant Exam
- Input
- 2026-11-15 15:09:33
- Updated
- 2026-11-15 15:14:51
[Financial News] Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Lee Hyoung-il and former Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol have been reported to police amid controversy over AI cheating by this year’s top-ranked tax accountant exam passer.
Lee Jong-bae, a former Seoul Metropolitan Council member from the People Power Party, said on the 15th that he had filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency against Lee and former Deputy Prime Minister Koo, alleging dereliction of duty.
Police had earlier received a written confession from A stating that they had cheated using AI on the 63rd tax accountant exam, and assigned the case to the Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Metropolitan Investigation Unit at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
The tax accountant exam is a national qualification exam administered by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea under contract with the government.
Former council member Lee Jong-bae said, “If cheating using AI smart glasses and other devices had been repeatedly detected in exams administered by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, the entrusted agency, the minister of the commissioning agency, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, should have reviewed the oversight system and taken steps to strengthen it in response to these risks.” He added, “Even though cheating using AI devices was entirely foreseeable, if the finance minister neglected the duty to direct and supervise and failed to issue necessary instructions or take measures, that would constitute dereliction of duty.”
A, meanwhile, appeared on an attorney’s YouTube channel on the 15th and said they had cheated in both the first and second stages of the 63rd tax accountant exam using miniature cameras, smartphones and generative AI, and had submitted a written confession to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
[email protected] Park Sung-hyun Reporter