Framework Act on the Development of Artificial Intelligence and Establishment of a Foundation for Trust: requirements, deadlines and compliance actions
Framework Act on the Development of Artificial Intelligence and Establishment of a Foundation for Trust (AI Basic Act, Act No. 20676)
What is Framework Act on the Development of Artificial Intelligence and Establishment of a Foundation for Trust?
Korea's AI Basic Act is a comprehensive framework statute combining industrial promotion with trust and safety rules. It gives a legal basis for a national AI master plan every three years and the National AI Committee, supports R&D, data, standardisation and SMEs, and imposes duties on operators of high-impact AI (risk management, explanation, human oversight) and transparency duties to notify users of generative AI output. Foreign operators above a threshold must designate a domestic representative. It was promulgated in January 2025 and took effect on 22 January 2026 after a one-year grace period.
Status note: Official page is in Korean; law number, promulgation date (2025-01-21) and enforcement date (2026-01-22) were confirmed from it. The 26 December 2024 plenary passage date comes from search results rather than the fetched page. English title is the commonly used translation; an official English text was not fetched.
Who does it apply to?
Scope is as set out in the official text linked below. Issued by National Assembly of the Republic of Korea; competent ministry Ministry of Science and ICT. Oversight: Ministry of Science and ICT as competent authority; presidential National AI Committee; AI Safety Institute. Stated purpose: Promote the AI industry while establishing trust obligations for high-impact and generative AI.
When do the requirements apply?
2024-12-26: Passed by the National Assembly plenary; 2025-01-21: Promulgated as Act No. 20676; 2026-01-22: Act enters into force
Only the announcement or adoption date is recorded from the source; in-force and application dates are to be confirmed by a reviewer.
Official sources
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Framework Act on the Development of Artificial Intelligence and Establishment of a Foundation for Trust (AI Basic Act, Act No. 20676)
Korea Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center · 21 Jan 2025 · Tier 1 source
Change history
Record version 1: Imported from the source-backed legacy dataset (database/data/ai_policies.json); fields limited to what the official source page states. Reviewer to enrich scope, dates and obligations.. Full edit history is in the GitHub repository.
Informational only, not legal advice. Verify every claim against the linked official sources and consult qualified counsel before acting.