South Korea's AI Basic Act, Article 31: labelling generative output

Who does it apply to?

"AI business operators", which Article 2(7) splits in two: an AI development operator, which develops and provides AI, and an AI utilisation operator, which "provides AI products or AI services using AI provided by" a developer. A company that puts image or text generation in its own product on someone else's model is in the second group and carries Article 31 itself.

Article 4(1) reaches conduct abroad that affects the domestic market or users. Article 36 requires an operator with no address or place of business in Korea to appoint a domestic representative if it meets any threshold in Article 29 of the Decree: total revenue of KRW 1 trillion or more in the previous year, AI service revenue of KRW 10 billion or more, an average of 1,000,000 or more domestic users a day over the three months before year end, or a previous fine for ignoring a corrective order.

AI developed and used only for national defence or security is excluded (Article 4(2)).

What exactly is required?

Article 31 has three operative paragraphs.

1. Prior notice. An operator providing a product or service that uses high-impact AI or generative AI must notify users in advance that it runs on such AI. The Decree (Article 23(1)) accepts a statement on the product, in the contract, manual or terms of use; a display on the user's screen or device; or a notice posted where the service is provided.
2. A label on generative output. An operator providing generative AI, or a product or service using it, must indicate that the output was generated by generative AI. Article 23(2) of the Decree gives two ways: "a method a person can perceive", or "a method a machine can read", and in the second case the operator must also tell the user at least once, by a notice in text or voice, that the output was generated by generative AI.
3. A clear label on realistic fakes. Where an AI system produces "virtual sound, images or video that are difficult to distinguish from reality", the operator must notify or label "in a manner the user can clearly recognise". For artistic or creative works the label may be given in a way that does not hinder display or enjoyment. Article 23(3) of the Decree tells operators to consider whether users can easily check the label by sight, by hearing or by using software, and the age and circumstances of the main users.

Article 23(4) of the Decree allows the duties to be set aside, in whole or part, where the use of AI is obvious from the product name, the screen or the output itself; where the system is used only for the operator's internal work; or where the Minister designates an exception by public notice.

A signed C2PA manifest or a watermark is a machine-readable method under paragraph 2, so long as the one-time notice is given. The Ministry's AI Transparency Guidelines go further into method: Shin & Kim's summary of 25 March 2026 says output exported from a service must be labelled on the file itself, that metadata and digital watermarks are among the machine-readable options, and that for realistic fakes only human-perceivable methods count. We have not read the guidelines, so those three points are UNVERIFIED.

What happens if you don't?

Article 43(1) sets an administrative fine of up to KRW 30 million for three things: failing to give notice in breach of Article 31(1), failing to appoint a domestic representative in breach of Article 36(1), and failing to comply with a stop or correction order under Article 40(3).

Labelling failures are not on that list. Article 40(1) lets the Minister of Science and ICT demand materials and investigate where a breach of Article 31(2) or (3) is found, suspected or reported, and Article 40(3) lets the Minister order the operator to stop or correct it. The fine follows if the order is not obeyed. A fine for ignoring an order is also one of the triggers for the domestic-representative duty.

Grace period. Cooley's note of 27 January 2026 says the Ministry will grant "a grace period of one year before administrative fines are imposed". Neither the Act nor the Decree, as read on 13 October 2026, contains that period, and we have not found the Ministry's own statement. UNVERIFIED; on the reported terms it would run to about 22 January 2027.

What has changed since it took effect?

• The Act was amended by Act No. 21311, promulgated 20 January 2026. Its addendum brings most of the amendment into force on 22 January 2026 and the rest six months after promulgation; the consolidated text now shows an in-force date of 21 July 2026. Articles 31 and 43 read as described above in that text.
• The Enforcement Decree was first made as Presidential Decree No. 36053 of 21 January 2026, amended by No. 36506 of 20 July 2026, and last touched by No. 36580 of 18 August 2026, an amendment made through another decree.

How does it compare with Article 50?

	Korea, AI Basic Act Article 31	EU AI Act Article 50
Since	22 January 2026	2 August 2026
Who	Developers and businesses providing services on a developer's AI	Providers mark; deployers disclose deepfakes
Mark on ordinary output	Human-perceivable or machine-readable, operator's choice	Machine-readable and detectable, always
Realistic fakes	Clear notice or label to the user	Disclosure by the deployer under 50(4)
Reach	Acts abroad affecting Korean users	Systems placed on the EU market or whose output is used in the EU
Maximum penalty	KRW 30 million	EUR 15 million or 3% of turnover

Korea asks for less than the EU on ordinary output, since a visible notice alone can satisfy it, and for much smaller sums. The machine-readable route is the same technique in both.

What this means if you ship AI generation

If Korean users can reach your product, the prior notice is the duty with a direct fine: put it in the terms and on the screen. For output, a signed manifest or watermark meets Article 31(2) once the user has been told in text or voice; for anything that could pass as real footage, plan on a visible label as well. If you are outside Korea and near any of the Article 29 thresholds, the domestic representative is a separate obligation with its own fine.

SignUnder's signed manifests and watermark are the machine-readable method the Decree describes; it is pre-launch and the waitlist is on the homepage.

Changes

• 2026-10-13 — First published, from the consolidated Act (in force 21 July 2026) and Enforcement Decree (in force 20 August 2026) at the National Law Information Center.

SignUnder is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. The Korean text is authoritative; translations are ours, and anything not read from a primary source is marked.