South Korean prosecutors have filed the country’s first criminal case involving the use of artificial intelligence-powered smart glasses to cheat on a national qualification exam. The Gwangju district prosecutor’s office last month indicted a man in his 40s on charges of violating the National Technical Qualification Act after he was allegedly caught using AI-enabled smart glasses during an examination in May.

The incident occurred during the fire protection facilities engineer certification exam held in Gwangju. A supervisor noticed light reflecting from the lenses of the suspect’s glasses, raising suspicion. During subsequent questioning, the man reportedly admitted to cheating and revealed that he had developed an AI application linked to the glasses. He said his aim was to test whether the device could generate correct answers in a real exam environment.

Authorities say this is not an isolated case. In May, two men in their 20s were also booked for attempting to use AI-powered smart glasses during national technical qualification exams conducted in Seoul and Mokpo. Additionally, several candidates have been caught using similar devices during the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) exams. Two candidates were identified in May, and a third in June.

These incidents have raised concerns over examination security, prompting officials to review current measures to prevent cheating using emerging technologies. The introduction of AI-based tools has presented new challenges for exam administrators, who are now seeking ways to safeguard the integrity of national qualifications against sophisticated forms of dishonesty.