The Korea Internet Corporations Association and Rebuilding Korea Party National Assembly Member Kim Jae-won held a debate session titled 'The AI Era, New Leap Forward for South Korea's Content Industry and Policy Tasks' at 2 PM on September 29 at Conference Room No. 5 of the National Assembly Members' Office Building.

This debate session was organised to seek policy alternatives that harmonize technological innovation with the protection of creators' rights, at a time when AI technology is bringing changes to the overall planning, production, and distribution paradigms of the K-content industry, including games, webtoons, music, and video.

National Assembly Member Kim Jae-won, who hosted the event, stated through an opening speech, "AI is rapidly changing not only the production process of the content industry but also its distribution and usage methods." The lawmaker added, "Beyond the simple question of how much to allow AI, it is urgent to establish specific standards and policies on how to set the roles of technological utilisation and human creation, while safeguarding the value and rights of creators."

Park Sung-ho, President of the Korea Internet Corporations Association, remarked in a welcoming speech, "AI provides new growth engines for K-content while also presenting policy tasks that we must solve." President Park continued, "We will spare no support for the industry to build a developmental ecosystem where technology, content, and policy harmonize." Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young also emphasized the commitment to AI support in content fields, copyright protection, and talent cultivation through a written congratulatory message.

Lee Dong-gyu, a professor at Dong-A University who stepped up as the first presenter, suggested, "It is time to establish standards on how far to use AI by genre and production process rather than deciding whether to allow or restrict it." Professor Lee advised, "We must institutionally recognize hybrid production combining human creation and review, and harmonize AI utilisation with creator protection through standard contracts and production guidelines containing creators' consent, compensation, and control rights."

Kang Seung-mi, managing director at Samjong KPMG and the second presenter, explained, "As AI expands its application areas from content production in the game industry to physical industries such as robotics, mobility, defense, shipbuilding, and logistics, game companies' business diversification and inter-company cooperation are accelerating." Managing Director Kang announced, "Furthermore, these changes can serve as an opportunity to reorganize the game industry's competitive landscape and overall industrial structure beyond the expansion of game companies' business areas."

In the following discussion, Kim Sung-jun, head of division at the Korea Creative Content Agency, noted, "The changes in the field are so rapid that over 99% of currently supported projects already utilise AI." Division Head Kim mentioned, "We are continuing practical support, such as helping utilise various AI tools, so that small and medium-sized enterprises lacking manpower and resources can smoothly introduce AI."

Lee Yong-min, an attorney at Yulchon LLC, stated, "Regarding copyright issues that arise when AI learns existing data, clear standard guidelines that the entire industry can refer to are needed. We also need to urgently overhaul related legal systems, such as technology leakage issues that may occur when gaming technology is used in other industries like defense."

Je Sung-won, a director at Wrtn Technologies, predicted, "Although AI is helping with content production, planning capabilities that deeply move people remain human territory." Director Je added, "Ultimately, in the future, the unique value of 'who planned and made this content (IP ownership)' rather than whether AI technology was used will determine competitiveness."

Kim Min-cheon, a general manager at the Korea Internet Corporations Association, emphasized, "It is realistically difficult for policies and legislation to keep pace with the speed of AI technology development." General Manager Kim stressed, "For our companies to secure competitiveness in the global market, active communication with the industrial sector to establish necessary order rather than restrictions is essential, alongside robust government backing in administrative, financial, and diplomatic spheres."

The debate reference book can be found on the official website of the Korea Internet Corporations Association.