SOUTH KOREA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Hwan Kyoung Ko, Hyunjun Kim, Kyung Min Son and Matt Younghoon Mok, Lee & Ko
AI businesses providing products or services using high-impact AI should endeavour to assess the potential impact on people’s funda -
fully review and ensure compliance with the AI Framework Act’s requirements. AI-related regulatory trends Beyond the AI Framework Act, South Korea has been developing a comprehensive regula - tory ecosystem for AI through various laws and guidelines. The amended PIPA, for instance, now explicitly addresses AI-related privacy concerns, providing data subjects with specific rights regarding automated decision-making, includ - ing the right to object and request explanations when automated systems make decisions that significantly affect individual rights in areas such as credit lending and employment. Similarly, the Credit Information Use and Protection Act grants data subjects the right to request an explanation and object to automated evaluation results from credit assessment entities. Various government agencies have issued AI- related guidelines throughout 2023 and 2024. The MSIT, through its affiliated organisations, such as the National Information Society Agen - cy (NIA) and TTA, has published the “Guide for Developing Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence” (March 2024). The PIPC has been particularly active, issuing several significant documents, including the “Guidelines on Rights of Data Subjects Regarding Automated Decisions” (September 2024), the “Guidelines for Process - ing Public Personal Information for AI Develop - ment and Services” (July 2024), the “Synthetic Data Generation Reference Model” (May 2024), and the “AI Privacy Risk Management Model” (December 2024). In the financial sector, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has established a compre - hensive regulatory framework through its series of guidelines addressing AI development, imple - mentation and security. Additionally, sector-spe -
mental rights in advance. Domestic representative
AI businesses without a domestic address or place of business that meet certain thresholds for user numbers, revenue, etc, as specified by the Enforcement Decree, must designate in writ - ing a domestic representative with an address or place of business located in South Korea and report this to the MSIT. The domestic represent - ative will handle: • the submission of safety measure imple - mentation results for AI systems exceeding computational thresholds; • applications for high-impact AI status verifica - tion; and • support for implementing safety and trustwor - thiness measures for high-impact AI. Any violations by the domestic representative will be deemed actions of the foreign AI busi - ness operator. In addition, the MSIT is authorised to investi - gate potential violations upon discovery, report or complaint, and may order the cessation of violations, or corrective measures when viola - tions are confirmed. The AI Framework Act is scheduled to take effect one year after its promulgation. Notably, the AI Framework Act explicitly provides for extraterritorial application, extending its scope to activities conducted outside South Korea that affect the domestic market or users. Therefore, foreign businesses providing AI services to the Korean market, even from abroad, should care -
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