The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Information Society Development Institute said Monday that the national ethics principles for AI were finalized on Aug. 21 after being reviewed and approved at a meeting of science and technology ministers.
The framework enshrines three core values for the AI era, including human dignity, the public good of society, and the sustainability of humankind.
It also sets out seven guiding principles to realize them, including human-centeredness, privacy protection, fairness and inclusiveness, accountability, safety, reliability and transparency.
The government said it drafted the principles as AI drives productivity gains and new services but also stirs mounting anxieties over jobs, copyright, overreliance and the delegation of consequential decisions such as hiring to machines.
Notably, it casts users, not just suppliers, as active stewards of responsible AI, and urges that the technology's benefits not accrue disproportionately to any single nation, region or group.
"Accelerating AI innovation and building a safe, trustworthy AI environment are not conflicting tasks," said Bae Kyung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT.
Bae added that the principles should take root as a practical benchmark that bolsters public trust and helps spread the technology's benefits.
The ministry said it plans to roll out case-based explanatory guides, sector-specific self-assessment checklists and tailored ethics education materials, and to keep refining the principles over time.
AJP Takeaways
Seoul is betting that ethics and speed can coexist — the guidelines are voluntary rather than binding, positioning Korea to court AI investment while signaling accountability, a balance Bae has pushed since taking the newly created deputy prime minister post.
The move slots into President Lee Jae Myung's broader ambition to make Korea a top-three AI power, and follows the ministry's recent tie-ups with Google DeepMind and outreach to Nvidia.
The framework's emphasis on users as responsible actors — not just corporate suppliers — is an unusual feature that could shape how future, more enforceable AI regulation is written.
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