Framework Guide

Korea AI Act

South Korea's Artificial Intelligence Act - National legislation for establishing basic principles of AI development and ensuring safety.

Korea AI Basic Act Overview

The Framework Act on Artificial Intelligence Development and Trust (Act No. 20676) was promulgated on January 21, 2025 and has been in full force since January 22, 2026. Together with its Enforcement Decree (Presidential Decree No. 36053) and five government guidelines, high-impact AI operator duties and generative AI transparency obligations now apply in practice. A January 2026 amendment (Act No. 21311) reorganized the National AI Strategy Committee, with some provisions taking effect on July 21, 2026. The guidance period runs for at least one year.

Key Provisions

Key provisions and requirements of Korea AI Act.

Article 31

Transparency Obligations

Operators must give prior notice when a product or service runs on high-impact or generative AI, and label generative AI outputs. The duty falls on the operator that finally provides the service to users.

Key Requirements

Prior notice that a product or service is AI-based
Labeling of generative AI outputs (machine-readable watermarks allowed for creative content)
Clearly perceivable indication of deepfake-like realistic synthetic content

Article 32

Safety Obligations

Applies to frontier AI systems trained with cumulative compute of 10^26 FLOPs or more that also meet criteria designated by the Minister of Science and ICT. The specific thresholds are set in the Enforcement Decree and ministerial notice.

Key Requirements

Identify, assess and mitigate risks across the AI lifecycle
Establish and operate a risk management system
Submit implementation results to the Minister of Science and ICT

Articles 33-34

High-Impact AI Review and Operator Duties

Applies to AI in areas with significant impact on life, safety and fundamental rights, such as healthcare, hiring and finance.

Key Requirements

Pre-review whether your AI qualifies as high-impact (confirmation may be requested from MSIT)
Establish and operate a risk management plan
Ensure explainability of AI results
Implement user protection measures and human oversight
Prepare and retain documentation

Article 35

AI Impact Assessment

Requires advance assessment of how high-impact AI affects fundamental rights.

Key Requirements

Assess fundamental-rights impact of high-impact AI in advance
May be performed directly or through a specialized third party

Article 36

Domestic Representative

Foreign AI operators without an address or place of business in Korea must appoint a domestic representative if they meet certain thresholds.

Key Requirements

Prior-year total revenue of 1 trillion KRW or more
AI service revenue of 10 billion KRW or more
Average of 1 million or more daily Korean users over the preceding 3 months (any one criterion triggers the duty)

Article 43

Administrative Fines

Violations such as transparency failures, missing domestic representatives, or ignoring corrective orders carry fines of up to 30 million KRW. Breaches of AI operator duties themselves carry no criminal penalties, only administrative fines.

Key Requirements

Fines of up to 30 million KRW
Investigations and fines are generally deferred during the 2026 guidance period

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