Year in review: Artificial Intelligence Law in South Korea

In 2023 Artificial intelligence (AI) has grown significantly in South Korea. Following the defeat of a world-renowned Korean Go player by an AI computer Go program in 2016, investments have poured into AI, with ChatGPT leading the way in generative AI. The Korean government has selected AI as one of the 12 national strategic technologies and is promoting its use in all sectors of the economy and society. Several Korean IT and telecommunications companies strive to develop their generative AI models.

The Korean government has introduced various policies and legislation, including regulations and sanctions. The Data Industry Act protects data assets, while an amendment to the Unfair Competition Prevention Act (UCPA) identifies unjust use of data. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRC) has released the Human Rights Guidelines on Development and Utilisation of AI, which discuss transparency and accountability in AI use, evaluating AI’s impact on human rights, classifying AI according to risk level, and the need for a legal framework. The AI Bill, expected to serve as the framework act governing AI, is pending before the National Assembly.

The proposed amendment to Korea’s Copyright Act is also pending before the National Assembly. Additionally, civil and criminal lawsuits related to web crawling have been filed in Korea.

Source: Lexology

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