South Korea's largest music copyright body, KOMCA (Korean Music Copyright Association), has reversed its ban on registering AI-assisted songs, ending a rule in place since March 2025 that required works to be "100% human-made" to qualify for registration and royalties. Under new rules effective 3 August 2026, songs created with AI assistance can now be registered and earn royalties, provided a human made a "substantial and leading" creative contribution, with strict penalties introduced for false declarations. The change matters because it reshapes how one of the world's major music markets treats AI in songwriting, moving from outright exclusion to a disclosure-based system.

Creators must now declare which parts of a track involved AI, name the specific tools used, and describe their own creative input, while confirming the work was not generated purely from a prompt. KOMCA recommends keeping evidence such as DAW project files, revision histories and prompt logs, and can request this material or refer works to a review panel. False filings can trigger royalty holds, clawbacks and contract termination, with penalties of up to three times any wrongly received amount planned for cases of intent or gross negligence. The reversal follows a March 2026 government audit finding that 60.9% of sampled songs from prolific writers were likely AI-assisted, exposing gaps in the old self-certification system; the new stance broadly mirrors the US Copyright Office's position that AI can assist but not author a work.