South Korea: AI Basic Act and Its Implementation

A national legislative and implementation role

South Korea’s National Assembly passed the AI Basic Act in December 2024. The act combines an AI industry-development framework with governance and trust-related duties. Its passage is a legislative milestone, distinct from promulgation, the implementing decree and the date obligations take effect. [1]

Specified duties and a regulatory grace period

The science ministry states that the act and its enforcement decree came into force on January 22, 2026. Its implementation guidance distinguishes transparency obligations for high-impact and generative AI, safety requirements for specified advanced systems and government support for testing and training-data infrastructure. These categories should not be collapsed into a claim that every AI system has the same duties. [2]

The ministry also announced a grace period of at least one year, during which fact-finding investigations and penalties would generally be deferred, with exceptions for serious harms. The legal effective date and the government’s enforcement approach are therefore separate parts of the record. [2]