South Korea will require advertisers to label their ads made with AI technologies from next year as it seeks to curb a surge of deceptive promotions featuring fabricated experts or deepfake videos and audio of celebrities endorsing food or pharmaceutical products on social media.
Following a policy meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on Wednesday, officials said they will ramp up screening and removal of problematic AI-generated ads and impose punitive fines, citing growing risks to consumers – especially older people who struggle to tell whether content is AI-made.
Lee Dong-hoon, director of economic and financial policy at the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said in a briefing that such ads were “disrupting the market order”, and that “swift action is now essential”.
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“Anyone 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,” he said.
AI-generated ads using digitally fabricated experts or deepfake videos and audio of celebrities, promoting everything from weight-loss pills and cosmetics to illegal gambling sites, have become staples across the South Korean spaces of YouTube, Facebook and other social media platforms.
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The government will seek to revise the telecommunications act and other related laws so the AI labelling requirement, along with strengthened monitoring and punitive measures, can take effect in early 2026. Companies operating the platforms will also be responsible for ensuring that advertisers comply with the labelling rules, Lee said.