The government is promoting the establishment of new legislation to encourage the continued growth of the content industry using artificial intelligence (AI) technology. This is in response to increasing examples of AI utilization across all content sectors, such as webtoons, music, and broadcasting, which has raised urgent calls for the refinement of laws and systems related to regulation, copyright, and ethics.
According to related ministries on the 24th, the Korea Creative Content Agency, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has commenced a research project on the establishment of the "AI-based Content Industry Promotion Act (tentative)". The agency plans to conduct research analyzing related laws and exploring directions for the enactment and revision until the end of August, and the ministry is expected to review legislation as early as this year.
Through this research project, the agency will investigate trends in domestic and international laws and systems related to AI and content; analyze the positive and negative impacts of AI content; review key issues such as copyright protection measures and ethical responsibilities; and propose revisions to existing laws that may conflict with the new legislation.
According to the agency, AI technology is changing the industrial paradigm across all processes from content planning, production, circulation, to consumption. In the gaming sector, it is realistically implementing NPC (Non-Player Character) behavior patterns and operating automated matching systems by analyzing user patterns. In the webtoon field, it is automating the overall creative process, including automatic generation of characters and backgrounds, storyboard writing assistance, and color and shading enhancements, thus reducing production time.
In the music sector, AI algorithms are used to generate new melodies or reflect the vocal styles of specific singers. Consequently, there are growing concerns about the need to address legal and social issues, such as copyright infringement, protection of creator rights, and job reductions caused by AI substitution.
The "Basic Act on Promoting AI Development and Building Trust (AI Basic Act)" enacted in January and set to take effect next January provides guidelines concerning AI in general, but it is deemed insufficient to comprehensively address the specific issues faced by the content industry.
For instance, in the recent webtoon industry, an AI-based webtoon platform called "RealToon" has been formally launched. This system allows AI to learn and complement the drawing style and story ideas of the authors, reducing production time and making it easier for new authors to enter the webtoon market.
The agency plans to hold public discussions inviting industry stakeholders, creators, academia, and associations to gather a wide range of opinions on the direction of the new legislation.
An official from the agency noted, "While the AI Basic Act passed last year, legal mechanisms specialized for the content industry are still lacking. The aim is to establish a practical response system that reflects the copyright, creator rights, and ethical issues that are actually occurring in the content sector."