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AI academic dishonesty uncovered in Seoul high school

Published: 28 Nov. 2025, 15:21

High school students are seen during the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), also known as Suneung, at a school in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Nov. 13. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

A case of academic dishonesty involving AI has emerged at a high school in Seoul, highlighting growing concerns over fairness amid the rapid spread of AI usage in primary and secondary education.

Earlier this month, a large-scale cheating incident was uncovered during a Korean language assignment at a high school in Gangseo District, western Seoul. The test required second-year students to write a summary of a book using the school-issued tablet PC “Divot.”

A supervising teacher noticed a student viewing a page other than the designated Google Classroom site. Upon reviewing access logs, the school found that several students’ answers had grown in length abnormally fast — in under a minute.

The students admitted to copying answers generated by AI or pasting prewritten content. The school had previously announced a ban on AI use for the assignment, but decided to invalidate the assessment for all students and conduct a paper-based retest to maintain fairness.

Universities are also grappling with similar issues. At Yonsei University, a number of students were found to have used AI tools during the midterm exam of a course titled "Natural Language Processing and ChatGPT." Students allegedly launched other programs or adjusted their webcam angles during the online test.

At Seoul National University, an AI-generated code was detected in a statistics course, resulting in all grades being nullified.

The stakes are particularly high in high schools, where performance assessments can directly impact college admissions.

“Students casually use ChatGPT for presentations or research projects,” said a high school teacher in Gyeonggi. “It’s not easy to stop them.”

University students are seen in a lecture hall at a university in Busan on Sept. 1. [YONHAP]

Despite the increasing presence of AI tools in classrooms, there is still no clear usage guideline for elementary through high school students. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s 2023 AI guidelines only mention age verification and ethics education, offering little practical regulation for AI generated submissions.

Experts say that clear usage standards and structured ethics education are essential, especially as the government pushes to bolster AI competencies among students. The Ministry of Education recently announced plans to expand AI class hours and designate more AI-focused schools.

“Students are likely to rely on AI answers without scrutiny, which could hinder critical thinking and creativity,” said Song Ki-chang, an honorary professor of education at Sookmyung Women’s University, adding that detailed, age-specific guidelines are needed.

The Seoul education office said it is preparing new guidelines on AI use in public education and plans to distribute them to schools before the next academic year begins. The Ministry of Education is also scheduled to release national AI usage guidelines for students in early December.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]