AI Basic Act

Jurisdiction:
South Korea
enforcing
Effective:
Jan 22, 2026
Authority:
Ministry of Science and ICT
Official text Verified Mar 26, 2026

Obligations Covered

Risk Assessment Transparency & Disclosure Human Oversight

High-Impact AI Risk Management #

Obligation:
Risk Assessment
enforcing
Effective:
Jan 22, 2026
Risk tier:
high-risk
Scope:
providers, deployers

Requirements

RequirementDetails
Risk identificationOperators must identify, assess, and mitigate risks for high-impact AI systems
Compute thresholdSystems trained with ≥10²⁶ floating-point operations classified as high-impact
High-risk sectors11 sectors including employment, healthcare, loans, criminal justice
Self-assessmentMust self-assess high-impact status pre-deployment and seek authority confirmation
MonitoringContinuous monitoring of social impacts
Safety and reliabilityEnsure safety, reliability, and human oversight

Penalties

ViolationFine
Non-complianceAdministrative corrective actions; one-year guidance period until Jan 2027

AI Transparency and Disclosure #

Obligation:
Transparency
enforcing
Effective:
Jan 22, 2026
Risk tier:
all
Scope:
providers, deployers

Requirements

RequirementDetails
Content watermarkingMandatory watermarking/disclosure for AI-generated content
User notificationUsers must be informed when AI systems make decisions affecting them
DocumentationDocument operations, governance procedures, and content provenance
Age-appropriate protectionsAdditional disclosure requirements for minors

Penalties

ViolationFine
Non-complianceAdministrative corrective actions

AI Governance and Human Oversight #

Obligation:
Human Oversight
enforcing
Effective:
Jan 22, 2026
Risk tier:
high-risk
Scope:
providers, deployers

Requirements

RequirementDetails
Human oversight mechanismsHigh-impact AI must include human oversight controls
Presidential CouncilNational AI Strategy Council oversees implementation
On-site inspectionsAuthority may conduct on-site inspections and data requests
Corrective measuresAuthority may order corrective actions for non-compliant systems

Penalties

ViolationFine
Non-complianceAdministrative corrective actions; on-site inspections