Cheating using artificial intelligence (AI) smart glasses was caught during last month's regular TOEIC exam, marking the first such case in the history of Korea's official language proficiency tests.
According to the YBM Korea TOEIC Committee on Friday, one examinee wearing AI smart glasses was caught at each of the regular TOEIC exams held on the 10th and 31st of last month. The first examinee wore a product from Company A purchased through overseas direct buying, while the second wore a product from Company B not yet released in Korea.
Both were spotted by proctors before the exam began. The examinees will have their scores invalidated and face restrictions on TOEIC eligibility for up to five years.
AI smart glasses are eyewear-type wearable devices that combine a camera, microphone, and speaker with generative AI. When the camera is pointed at the test paper, the AI analyzes the questions and displays answers or hints on the lens in real time. Because they are nearly indistinguishable from ordinary glasses, the difficulty of detecting them with the naked eye is cited as the biggest challenge for enforcement.
After Meta officially launched AI smart glasses in Korea on the 25th of last month, a variety of products are expected to flood the market starting in the second half of the year, which could lead to more cheating attempts.
The YBM Korea TOEIC Committee is conducting training for proctors on types of electronic device cheating, including AI smart glasses, and on detection techniques. At test sites, identity verification, electronic device inspections, and patrol supervision have been strengthened, and after the exam, answer similarity analysis and abnormal test-taking pattern verification are also carried out.
"If we confirm the leaking of questions using advanced devices or organized cheating, we will actively consider legal action such as copyright infringement and obstruction of business," said Ha Geum-su, executive director of the Korea TOEIC Committee.
Exam cheating using AI smart glasses is already a global phenomenon. In China, it was revealed early this year that college students rented AI smart glasses to solve exam questions in real time, leading to the formation of a rental market.
Ahead of the gaokao college entrance exam that began on the 7th, China's Ministry of Education warned that bringing smart glasses into the exam hall would be considered cheating, and major regions such as Guangdong Province introduced separate inspections of test-takers' glasses.
In Japan, smart glasses cheating was caught during the 2024 Waseda University entrance exam, and a TOEIC proxy test case using smart glasses and a small microphone led to hundreds of scores being invalidated.
In the United States, the College Board, which administers the SAT—the equivalent of a college scholastic ability test—banned all smart glasses, including prescription glasses, from exam halls starting this March. With national responses still in early stages compared to the speed of technology's spread, observers point out that a redesign of the supervision system across the entire exam framework is inevitable.
