![A pedestrian walks by a plaque of Yonsei University in western Seoul. [YONHAP]](https://www.koreadailyus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/1110-Yonsei.jpg)
A large-scale cheating scandal has erupted at Yonsei University, in which hundreds of students enrolled in a class are suspected of using AI tools such as ChatGPT to take their midterm exam.
The professor of a third-year course titled “Natural Language Processing and ChatGPT” at Yonsei University’s Sinchon campus recently disclosed that numerous cases of academic dishonesty have been identified and that students found to have cheated would receive zero points for the exam.
Roughly 600 students are enrolled in the course, which is conducted online due to the large class size. The test — held on Oct. 15 via an online platform — consisted of multiple choice questions. To prevent cheating, students were required to record their computer screens, hands and faces for the entire duration of the exam and submit the footage.
However, some students reportedly manipulated their camera angle to create blind spots or opened multiple windows on their screens to circumvent monitoring. Upon discovering signs of misconduct, the professor posted a notice stating that any student who came forward voluntarily would have their midterm score reset to zero but face no further penalty.
The exact number of students involved remains unknown, but speculation has emerged that over half of the class may have cheated. Following the professor’s announcement, a poll appeared on the Yonsei board of the student community app Everytime — with the message “Let’s vote honestly” — in which 190 out of 353 respondents admitted to cheating on that test.
The students are also believed to have used AI tools to cheat.
“Most of us used ChatGPT during the exam,” one student told Yonhap News Agency.
A student who took the course last semester added, “A lot of my classmates, myself included, looked up answers using AI.”
Although AI is spreading rapidly across Korean universities, most institutions have yet to establish clear guidelines or responses. A 2024 survey by the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training found that 91.7 percent of 726 students at four- and six-year universities used AI for assignments or research. But a separate study by the Korean Council for University Education found that 71.1 percent of 131 universities nationwide had not introduced any formal policies on generative AI.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]
