Smart glasses were used in at least five cheating cases during South Korea’s national technical qualification exams over a period of just two months, prompting the government to revise regulations to better address emerging technologies used for cheating.
According to data submitted by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea to Rep. Kim So-hee of the main opposition People Power Party on Monday, five candidates were caught wearing or using smart glasses during exams in May and June.
The Labor Ministry said it is preparing to revise enforcement rules under the National Technical Qualifications Act to more clearly cover smart glasses and other emerging electronic devices.
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The HRDK added smart glasses in May to its list of electronic and communications devices prohibited inside exam rooms, allowing proctors to remove candidates using them and to invalidate their scores.
But smart glasses are not explicitly named in the enforcement rules, which currently prohibit the use of electronic or communications devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras and camera-equipped pens for cheating.
The ministry is considering broader language that would allow new devices to be restricted without revising the rules each time a new technology emerges.
“It is difficult to revise the enforcement rules every time a new device emerges, so we are considering making the regulations somewhat more flexible so that we can respond more quickly to technological changes,” a Labor Ministry official said.
The ministry aims to begin the public notice process around September and complete the revision within the year.
Exams struggle to keep pace with technology
The five cases, detected in Seoul, Gwangju, Mokpo of South Jeolla Province, Daegu and Ulsan, illustrate how quickly smart glasses have spread into exam rooms.
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In Gwangju, a proctor noticed light coming from a candidate’s glasses during a fire protection system engineer exam in May. In Seoul, a camera lens was found embedded in the frame of glasses worn by a candidate taking an information processing engineer exam.
Another candidate in Mokpo was caught pressing a button on the side of a pair of glasses, causing a blue display to appear on the lens. In Daegu, a candidate was caught after an electronic sound came from the glasses, while in Ulsan a lens and display were found in another candidate’s glasses.
All five were sanctioned for cheating, and three cases — in Gwangju, Mokpo and Daegu — were referred to prosecutors without detention.
Concerns over smart glasses are also spreading to other major exams.
Two attempted cheating cases involving smart glasses were detected during regular Test of English for International Communication tests in Korea in May, while three cases involving the devices were found during Test of Proficiency in Korean exams last year.
The National Institute for International Education, which administers TOPIK, said it installed radio-frequency and metal detectors at all domestic test centers in April and plans to expand their use to overseas test centers next year.
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The Education Ministry said it is also considering additional measures to prevent technology-assisted cheating in TOPIK. /dl
