The nonprofit Korea Music Copyright Association (hereinafter the association) issued an official statement calling some media reports that cited the Board of Audit and Inspection's released audit findings related to artificial intelligence (AI) "an interpretation that overlooks the characteristics of music copyright and the association's proactive response efforts."
On the 24th, the Board of Audit and Inspection, in presentation materials on 'data provision of personal information in the health·medical sector and copyright management,' said that 11 copyright trust management organizations, including the association, register works and collect·distribute the resulting fees without separate verification procedures regarding whether AI was used.
However, the association has operated an AI task force and conducted internal policy reviews since 2023, and has officially implemented a "registration hold policy" for works using AI since March 2025. As mentioned in the Board of Audit and Inspection materials, members who currently wish to register songs with the association must check "whether AI was used," and works reported as using AI are placed on hold for registration.
The association said, "This was the association's proactive decision to prevent disruption to the creative ecosystem in the absence of established related laws and systems." Regarding the audit finding that pointed out this was an "measure that does not recognize the copyright of works using AI" and that it may differ from the government's "Generative AI copyright guide," the association explained, "The current measure does not fully deny the copyright of works using AI, but is a temporary management measure to prevent disputes and rights distortions that could arise in the absence of legal standards."
The association emphasized that "an authoritative technology that can accurately determine whether AI was used has not been established worldwide." In the absence of such technical foundations, current work registrations must rely on creators' voluntary reporting, and the occurrence of some creators' false entries ultimately stems from these structural limitations.
Nonetheless, the association is simultaneously working to strengthen management of works using AI despite these limitations. Before taking office, new President Lee Si-ha raised the issue of works using AI and proposed concrete verification measures, such as submitting DAW files that can prove the creator's actual creative process. The association is reviewing the adoption of those measures in future work registration processes and is accelerating development of a Korea-style AI detection program.
The association also said it conducts monitoring and follow-up measures for abnormal signs during copyright royalty settlements. The association operates a "Generative AI music-related task force," comprehensively reviewing and analyzing work registration patterns, usage types and distribution data to screen suspected AI-use cases found on platforms such as YouTube Shorts and has implemented measures to withhold royalty payments for those works.
The association is also promoting joint responses at the industry level for music copyright. The "K music rights organizations coexistence committee," launched on Feb. 26 under the leadership of President Lee Si-ha, includes the six major organizations in the music industry and is continuing discussions to establish national-level standards, including mandatory transparency of the AI generation process; institutionalizing clear criteria to distinguish human-created works from AI-generated works; and preparing registration·management standards for works using AI. The coexistence committee is also reviewing plans to develop detection technology to advance the AI copyright management system, and through this aims to build a foundation that can contribute to the establishment of related standards in the future.
A representative of the association said, "The association has proactively responded to AI works' issues even though AI copyright management systems have not been established globally," and added, "We will continue to work closely with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and actively participate in setting standards, and we will strive to protect creators' rights and establish a fair copyright order."
[Photo] provided by the association
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