South Korea’s main music copyright collective, KOMCA, has ended its blanket ban on AI-assisted music and introduced rules allowing such works to be registered and receive royalties when humans retain a substantial, leading creative role. The change matters because it seeks to reflect widespread use of AI in music production while preserving copyright protection and income for human creators.

The framework took effect on 3 August, replacing a March 2025 rule that excluded any work involving even minimal AI assistance. A March 2026 audit found that about 5,200 of 8,540 songs sampled from 29 prominent writers were likely AI-assisted; creators must now disclose their AI use, while falsely registering fully AI-generated tracks can lead to withheld or recovered royalties, termination of agreements and penalties of up to three times the improperly received royalties.