Direct source

Korea’s AI Basic Act took effect on 22 January 2026

MSIT states the AI Basic Act and Enforcement Decree come into force on 22 January 2026.

Evidence explainer

What this establishes

The announcement fixes the operative date and notes a grace period of at least one year for most penalties.

Why it matters: It establishes Asia’s first comprehensive AI statute as current law subject to grace-period administration.

Limits and context: The English press release summarises Enforcement Decree duties; Korean statutory text remains authoritative for litigation.

Exact passage

MSIT press release · lead

The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister: Bae Kyung-hoon) announced that the Basic Act on the Development of Artificial Intelligence and the Establishment of a Trustworthy Foundation (“AI Basic Act”) comes into effect on January 22.

Ministry of Science and ICT (Korea)Original source

Policy questions

Content integrity

Should AI-generated content be labelled?

Governments require disclosure in different forms. Technical duties, responsible actors and enforcement models still diverge.

Frontier safety

Should frontier models face mandatory evaluations?

Evaluation language is widespread in policy texts. Thresholds, evaluators and legal consequences remain contested.

Policy asks

in-force

Require advance notice and clear labelling for generative and high-impact AI

Require AI business operators providing high-impact or generative AI to inform users in advance and clearly label generative outputs, including deepfakes.

Policy vehicles

regulation · In force

Korea AI Basic Act and Enforcement Decree

South Korea’s comprehensive AI statute combining industry promotion with transparency, safety and high-impact duties.

Policy events

2026-01-22 · effective-date

Korea AI Basic Act enters into force

The AI Basic Act and Enforcement Decree took effect, with a grace period of at least one year.