South Korea has adopted the Basic Act on the Development of Artificial Intelligence and the Establishment of Foundation for Trustworthiness (the “AI Basic Act”), aiming to (i) build a national AI governance framework, (ii) foster the AI industry, and (iii) establish a safety and trust foundation for high-risk AI and generative AI.
The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) has indicated that the AI Basic Act will take effect in January 2026.
For businesses operating in Korea (or targeting Korean users), several obligations are likely to translate quickly into product and operational requirements:
1) Safety obligations for certain “large-scale” AI systems (Article 32).
If an AI system meets the threshold to be detailed in subordinate regulations, operators must implement lifecycle risk management, monitor/respond to safety incidents, and submit relevant results to the regulator.
2) High-impact AI: classification and operator responsibilities (Articles 33–34).
Providers should assess whether their system qualifies as “high-impact AI,” and may request an official confirmation if needed.
For high-impact AI, expected measures include risk management, user protection, human oversight, and documentation/record retention.
3) Generative AI transparency is a product/UX issue.
In practice, transparency duties often mean built-in labeling/marking at the point of distribution. In particular, when generated outputs are provided for download, service providers should ensure the required notice/marking is implemented within the file and delivery flow.
4) Overseas services: a local representative may be required (Article 36).
Overseas providers without a Korean establishment may need to appoint and report a local representative, depending on user/revenue thresholds to be specified in subordinate regulations.
5) Enforcement risk: administrative fines can attach quickly.
Administrative fines may apply for failure to provide required notices, failure to appoint a local representative, or failure to comply with stop/corrective orders.
At MARKKOREA Patent and Law Firm, we support companies doing business in South Korea with practical, business-oriented legal guidance.
If you operate an AI-enabled product or a generative AI service in Korea (or target Korean users), now is a good time to map your offering into: generative AI / high-impact AI / large-scale safety obligations—and build an evidence-ready compliance trail.