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South Korea announces mandatory labelling of AI-created advertisements from 2026 to combat rising digital disinformation and deceptive marketing, with enhanced monitoring and stricter enforcement to follow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
South Korea will require advertisers to label any advertisements created using artificial intelligence beginning in early 2026, the government announced, in a bid to curb a surge in deceptive promotions that use fabricated experts and deepfaked celebrities to push products on social media. According to the original report, the measure follows a policy meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and is intended to protect consumers, especially older people, who are increasingly unable to distinguish AI-made content from genuine material. [1]<\/a><\/sup>[2]<\/a><\/sup>[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Officials said the requirement will be backed by changes to telecommunications and related laws so the labelling rule, strengthened monitoring and punitive measures can take effect in early 2026. Lee Dong-hoon, director of economic and financial policy at the Office for Government Policy Coordination, told a briefing that such ads are \u201cdisrupting the market order,\u201d and that \u201cswift action is now essential.\u201d He added that \u201cAnyone who creates, edits, and posts AI-generated photos or videos will be required to label them as AI-made, and the users of the platform will be prohibited from removing or tampering with those labels.\u201d [1]<\/a><\/sup>[5]<\/a><\/sup>[7]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n The government said platform operators will be responsible for ensuring advertisers comply with the labelling rules and will face accountability for failures to police content. Officials indicated they will also tighten takedown procedures, enabling reviews within 24 hours and an emergency block process to remove harmful ads even before formal deliberation is complete. The announcements mirror summaries from international outlets noting the same legal and enforcement timetable. [1]<\/a><\/sup>[2]<\/a><\/sup>[3]<\/a><\/sup>[4]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Data cited by the administration illustrates the scale of the problem. The Food and Drug Safety Ministry identified more than 97,600 illegal online ads for food and pharmaceutical products in 2024 and 68,950 through September this year, up from roughly 59,000 in 2023, prompting authorities to expand monitoring to sectors such as private education, cosmetics and illegal gambling. The government said it will bolster the monitoring capabilities of the Food and Drug Safety Ministry and the Korea Consumer Agency, including through the use of AI tools. [1]<\/a><\/sup>[2]<\/a><\/sup>[5]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n To deter bad actors, officials plan to raise fines and introduce punitive damages next year; those who knowingly distribute false or fabricated information online could be held liable for damages up to five times the losses incurred, the government said. Reports from domestic outlets also describe plans to revise the Information and Communications Network Act to formalise the labelling obligation and to prohibit users from tampering with AI labels. [1]<\/a><\/sup>[7]<\/a><\/sup>[5]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n The moves come as Seoul pursues a broader national strategy to strengthen its AI and semiconductor capabilities. Prime Minister Kim told the meeting it is crucial to \u201cminimize the side effects of new technologies\u201d even as the country embraces the \u201cAI era,\u201d and separate government statements highlighted plans to ramp up research and development spending on AI-specific chips and expand chip manufacturing beyond the capital region. Regulators will also require wireless carriers to transition to 5G standalone networks as part of licence renewals, a step officials say is necessary because higher bandwidth and lower latency better support advanced AI applications. [1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n While the policy aims to strike a balance between innovation and consumer protection, enforcement will be critical to its impact. Industry data and reports underscore the rapid growth of AI-enabled deceptive advertising across YouTube, Facebook and other platforms, and the government\u2019s reliance on platforms to police content means outcomes will depend on how vigorously operators implement labelling and removal rules. The company claims and government statements framing the measures signal a more interventionist regulatory approach as South Korea seeks to limit harms without stifling its AI ambitions. [1]<\/a><\/sup>[2]<\/a><\/sup>[5]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n ##Reference Map:<\/p>\n\n