South Korea Plans Glasses Checks for Suneung Amid Smart-Device Cheating Fears
Education authorities plan visual checks of test-takers’ glasses before every session of the national college entrance exam after smart glasses were detected in two university admissions tests.
South Korea’s Education Ministry plans to require proctors to inspect the glasses of every test-taker who wears them before each session of this year’s College Scholastic Ability Test, as authorities respond to concerns that increasingly discreet smart devices could be used to cheat.
The College Scholastic Ability Test, widely known as the Suneung, is scheduled for Nov. 19. The proposed checks would add a new layer of screening to one of the country’s most consequential annual examinations, where strict security rules are intended to ensure that every candidate sits the test under the same conditions.
Officials considered using radio-frequency detectors to identify concealed electronic equipment, but the ministry said such devices would be difficult to deploy reliably this year. Tests found that differing conditions around examination venues could produce detection errors. Proctors are therefore expected to rely on visual inspections, checking the glasses of candidates before each examination session.
The move follows two suspected cheating attempts involving smart glasses at university admissions tests earlier in October. At the University of Seoul on Oct. 3, a proctor noticed that a candidate was wearing unusually thick glasses and alerted administrators. The glasses were identified as an artificial intelligence-enabled device. The candidate was seeking admission to the university’s artificial intelligence department, where 120 applicants were competing for five places.
The University of Seoul removed the candidate from the examination room and barred the person from applying to the institution for three years. The case was described as the first detected attempt to use smart glasses for cheating in a Korean university entrance examination.
A second device was found during Yonsei University’s mathematics-based essay examination the following week. In that case, the candidate reportedly wore ordinary glasses during the pre-exam inspection and switched to smart glasses after the test began. The candidate later acknowledged wearing the device when questioned by a proctor.
The incidents highlight a growing challenge for schools and testing authorities as consumer electronics become smaller and harder to distinguish from ordinary accessories. Smart glasses can incorporate cameras, wireless connectivity and AI functions while resembling conventional eyewear, complicating efforts to detect them without delaying or disrupting an exam.
For this year’s Suneung, the ministry’s approach places the immediate responsibility on human inspection rather than unproven detection equipment. The effectiveness of the measure will depend on clear guidance for proctors and consistent checks across testing sites, while authorities continue to assess how examination security should adapt to rapidly changing wearable technology.