On 12 November 2025 Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT pre-announced the enforcement decree of the Framework Act on AI Development and the Establishment of a Foundation of Trust (Notice No. 2025-970), with a consultation period running from 12 November to 22 December.
The relationship between the Act and the decree
Korea’s AI Framework Act is framework legislation, establishing the basic institutional arrangements for AI development and trust. The enforcement decree converts the Act’s principle-based provisions into executable rules. After consultation and adjustment, the supporting rules took effect with the Act — the Act came into force on 22 January 2026.
From the published pre-announcement, the supporting rules focus on two areas: labelling of generative AI outputs (including technical means such as “watermarking”), and allocation of duties among responsible parties.
Two points worth noting
First, labelling becomes technical. Korea’s rules tie labelling to technical means such as watermarking, consistent with the EU AI Act’s approach to deepfake marking and comparable to China’s explicit and implicit labelling regime. See our notes on the EU AI Act transparency rules and labelling enforcement.
Second, duty allocation becomes explicit. The decree refines “who bears the duty”, typically layered among service providers, deployers and users. For companies, that means identifying their role in the value chain first, then mapping the corresponding duties.
What it means for companies going global
First, Korea needs a separate assessment. Korea is one of the few economies to regulate AI through dedicated legislation. Providing generative AI services in Korea cannot rely on “Korea does not enforce strictly yet” to relax preparation.
Second, build labelling capability to the strictest standard. Where a product serves China, the EU and Korea at once, the labelling baseline should be the union of the three, with configuration room for differences. See our multi-jurisdiction service.
Third, write role allocation into contracts. When dividing work with Korean partners, specify who bears the labelling duty and who bears content review, avoiding a duty vacuum.
An observation
Korea, Japan and Singapore are all accelerating their AI governance legislation. For companies going global, rule differences in Asia are no smaller than in Europe and the US — they have simply been underestimated. Bringing the main Asian markets’ AI rules into one compliance map is easily overlooked but high-return work. See our note on Vietnam’s AI Law taking effect.
This article is based on Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT pre-announcement of the AI Framework Act enforcement decree (Notice No. 2025-970) and public information. It is for general reference only and does not constitute legal advice.