Korea AgentDirect Check Your Requirements

Korea AI Basic Act · Article 36

AI Domestic Representative in South Korea

Article 36 of the Korean AI Basic Act requires qualifying foreign AI business operators with no address or place of business in Korea to designate a domestic representative in writing and report the designation to the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Requirement in force Effective 22 January 2026 Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT)
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Who may be affected?

Foreign AI business operators without a Korean address or place of business

The Act may apply to conduct outside Korea when it affects the Korean market or Korean users. The domestic-representative requirement must be assessed for the relevant AI business operator under Articles 2, 4 and 36 of the Act and Article 29 of the Enforcement Decree.

What is an AI business operator?

Under Article 2, an AI business operator is a person or entity conducting business related to the AI industry in either of the following roles. The classification depends on what the relevant foreign entity actually develops, provides or offers—not only on how it describes itself.

  • AI developer business operator: A person or entity that develops AI and provides it to others. This can include developers of AI models, systems, APIs or other AI capabilities.
  • AI-using business operator: A person or entity that uses AI provided by an AI developer to provide its own AI product or AI service to others. This can include a company embedding a third-party model in its own application, platform or commercial service.

A company does not automatically become an AI business operator merely because its employees use an AI tool internally. The key question is whether the company develops and provides AI, or uses AI to provide an AI product or AI service to customers or other users.

What are AI products and AI services?

The Act uses AI product for a product developed, manufactured, produced or distributed using AI or AI technology, and AI service for a related service. A conventional product or service does not become an AI product or service merely because AI is used somewhere in the company's internal operations.

Common business profiles

  • Foreign companies that develop and provide AI systems, AI products or AI services
  • Generative AI providers, foundation-model providers and AI platforms; “foundation model” is a practical market term rather than a separate Article 2 business category
  • Foreign companies that use third-party AI to provide their own AI products or services
  • Other overseas AI businesses whose AI products or services affect the Korean market or Korean users

Preliminary applicability test

The test has two stages. The first two basic conditions must both be satisfied. After that, the requirement applies if the AI business operator meets any one of the four alternative triggers in Enforcement Decree Article 29.

Step 1 · Confirm both basic conditions

  • The relevant foreign entity qualifies as an AI developer business operator or an AI-using business operator under Article 2.
  • That same AI business operator has no address or place of business in Korea. The test is entity-specific: the existence of a separate Korean affiliate should be reviewed, but does not by itself answer whether the relevant foreign operator has a Korean address or place of business.

Step 2 · Check whether any one trigger applies

  • Total-revenue trigger: Its revenue for the preceding year—or the preceding fiscal year for a corporation—is at least KRW 1 trillion.
  • AI-service revenue trigger: Revenue attributable to its AI-service segment for the preceding year—or the preceding fiscal year for a corporation—is at least KRW 10 billion. This is a segment-specific test and may require supporting financial records.
  • Korean-user trigger: As of the end of the preceding year, the average daily number of users in Korea of that operator's AI products and AI services during the immediately preceding three months is at least 1 million. This is not the same as global users or general website traffic unrelated to the AI product or service.
  • Specific enforcement-history trigger: The operator has previously received the Article 43(1)(3) administrative fine for failing to comply with an Article 40(3) suspension or corrective order. A different type of regulatory warning or fine does not satisfy this trigger merely because it concerns AI.

The four triggers are alternatives

The company does not need to meet all four triggers. Meeting any one trigger is sufficient once both Step 1 conditions are satisfied.

For the two revenue triggers, foreign-currency amounts are converted into Korean won using the average exchange rate for the relevant preceding year or fiscal year.

If the requirement applies, the domestic representative must be designated in writing and the designation must be reported to MSIT.

Who may serve as the Korean AI domestic representative?

Article 36(2) requires the domestic representative to have an address or place of business in Korea. Unlike certain other Korean domestic-representative regimes, Article 36 does not state that a qualifying Korean affiliate must be appointed before an independent representative. The written appointment and service framework should define the representative's authority to perform the three statutory functions, the MSIT reporting workflow, approved contact channels and client approval controls.

Objective scope matrix

Separate the statutory representative role from the foreign company's retained obligations

Article 36 assigns three specific functions to the domestic representative. The precise operational scope, authority and exclusions are confirmed in the signed engagement.

01 · Statutory role

Three functions and a responsibility rule

  • Submit to MSIT the results showing how the operator implemented the Article 32 safety measures, where the relevant AI system is subject to Article 32.
  • Submit a request to MSIT under Article 33(1) for confirmation of whether an AI system is classified as high-impact AI.
  • Support the operator's implementation of the Article 34(1) safety and trustworthiness measures, including checking whether the required Article 34(1)(5) documents remain up to date and accurate.
  • Under Article 36(3), a violation by the domestic representative in connection with these functions is treated as an act of the appointing AI business operator.

02 · Proposed Korea Agent Direct scope

Coordination framework

  • Serve as the formally designated Korean AI domestic representative after eligibility, capacity and scope confirmation.
  • Support reporting of the designation to MSIT and maintain the approved Korean contact channels.
  • Receive and triage official communications within the agreed Article 36 scope.
  • Coordinate client-approved submissions, confirmation requests, supporting actions and deadlines.
  • Maintain a communication and submission record and coordinate with the client's technical, compliance and legal teams.

03 · Optional support

Separate approved scope

  • Document-readiness coordination under a separately agreed scope.
  • Coordination with independent Korean legal counsel or technical specialists.
  • Additional bilingual administrative support for a defined project.

04 · Foreign company

Client-retained responsibilities

  • Determine and document its status as an AI developer or AI-using business operator and classify its AI products and services.
  • Provide technically accurate and complete information and evidence.
  • Make and implement the substantive safety, risk-management, transparency and high-impact AI compliance decisions required under the Act.
  • Approve submissions, statements and representations.
  • Obtain legal or technical advice where required.

When do the three representative functions become relevant?

Appointment under Article 36 does not mean that every statutory function will be active for every company or every AI system. Each function becomes relevant only when the underlying Article 32, 33 or 34 conditions apply.

  • Article 32 safety-obligation system: This is a narrow category of advanced AI system meeting all three Enforcement Decree criteria: cumulative training computation of at least 1026 floating-point operations, use of state-of-the-art AI technology, and a risk of broad and significant impact on human life, physical safety or fundamental rights.
  • High-impact AI: An AI system used in a legally specified high-stakes area where it may significantly affect or create risks to human life, physical safety or fundamental rights. The statutory areas include, among others, healthcare, medical devices, employment or loan evaluation, criminal-investigation biometrics, transportation, public-service decisions and school-student assessment.
  • Article 34 measures: Where high-impact AI is provided, the foreign operator remains responsible for substantive measures such as risk management, explanations, user protection, human oversight and preparation and retention of supporting documents. The domestic representative supports the assigned Article 36 function but does not replace the operator's technical or legal responsibility.

Appointment and operation

A documented appointment and reporting process

The Act expressly requires written designation and reporting to MSIT. The filing channel, forms, supporting evidence and change-notification process should be confirmed against the official procedure available at the time of appointment.

Typical process

  1. Identify the relevant AI business operator and assess whether its overseas conduct affects the Korean market or Korean users.
  2. Confirm whether that operator has an address or place of business in Korea and check whether any one Article 29 trigger is met.
  3. Define the three statutory functions, authority limits, approval route, exclusions and escalation contacts.
  4. Complete due diligence and execute the written service and appointment documents.
  5. Report the designation to MSIT and operate the agreed communication, deadline and record-management process.

Information normally requested after initial contact

  • Current certificate of incorporation and corporate registry extract
  • Authorized-signatory evidence
  • Description of the AI system, product or service and the company's role as an AI developer or AI-using business operator
  • Korean-facing URLs, applications, distribution channels and Korean market or user information
  • Evidence relevant to the Article 29 thresholds, including total revenue, AI-service revenue, Korean user data and any relevant enforcement history
  • Technical, compliance and legal escalation contacts
  • Relevant authority correspondence, if any

No document upload at inquiry stage

Do not send corporate records, credentials, identity documents, authority evidence or personal information through the public form. A separately approved secure exchange method is arranged after initial contact.

Applicable law and sources

Framework Act on the Development of Artificial Intelligence and Establishment of Trust

Provisions: Act Articles 2, 4, 32, 33, 34, 36, 40 and 43; Enforcement Decree Article 29

Authority: Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT)

Regulatory information last verified: 2026-07-22 The current consolidated Act and Enforcement Decree are effective from 21 July 2026. The Article 36 domestic-representative requirement took effect on 22 January 2026. Primary Korean source text controls.

Frequently asked questions

Practical scope questions

What is an AI business operator?

It is an entity that either develops and provides AI, or uses AI provided by a developer to provide its own AI product or AI service. Merely using an AI tool internally does not automatically make a company an AI business operator.

Must the company meet all four Article 29 thresholds?

No. The thresholds are alternative. Once the relevant foreign entity is an AI business operator and has no address or place of business in Korea, meeting any one of the four Article 29 triggers is sufficient.

Does every foreign AI company serving Korea need a domestic representative?

No. Article 36 applies only where the relevant entity is an AI business operator, has no address or place of business in Korea, and meets at least one threshold in Enforcement Decree Article 29. The Act may also apply to overseas conduct that affects the Korean market or Korean users.

Does the representative certify that an AI system is compliant or safe?

No. The statutory role is limited to the three functions listed in Article 36(1). Korea Agent Direct does not certify the safety, accuracy or overall legal compliance of an AI system. Under Article 36(3), a representative's violation in connection with those functions is treated as an act of the appointing AI business operator.

What is the penalty for failing to appoint an AI domestic representative?

Article 43(1)(2) provides for an administrative fine of up to KRW 30 million for failure to designate a domestic representative when Article 36 requires one.

Can one appointment cover PIPA or telecommunications requirements too?

Not automatically. Each regime has a separate legal basis, threshold, statutory scope and appointment procedure. A company affected by several Korean laws may need separate appointment documents and operating procedures.

Preliminary review

Discuss your Korean AI domestic representative requirements

Share basic company information. Agent Direct will use it for a preliminary non-legal screening and to discuss an appropriate next step.

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Do not submit credentials, identity documents, breach details, personal-data requests, confidential evidence or files through this form.

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Related representative services

One company may face more than one regime