As challenges in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics continue to mount, calls for regulatory reform are growing. On July 21, the Korea Employers Federation (KEF) proposed 112 regulatory rationalization tasks across five key areas—future industries, corporate management, environment and safety, labor, and field challenges—to the Office for Government Policy Coordination and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Among the most urgent issues identified by KEF is the regulation surrounding the use of AI training data. AI models require vast amounts of data for collection and learning, but the current copyright law in South Korea presents ambiguities regarding fair use, leading to potential legal disputes and criminal penalties.
In the robotics sector, KEF highlighted the need to improve restrictions on the use of original data for AI training. While autonomous driving can utilize original data, robotics is limited by privacy regulations, which only allow the use of mosaic images and altered audio. This restriction hampers the advancement of physical AI technologies that rely on recognizing human expressions and voices.
Additionally, the hydrogen industry faces challenges due to the lack of specific standards for charging hydrogen vehicles in ultra-low pressure (0 bar) conditions, complicating the assembly of new vehicles and the maintenance of accident-damaged ones. Other recommendations include easing criteria for selecting domestic-returning companies, improving the designation system for large corporate groups, legislating standards and procedures for dismissing long-term underperformers, and expanding permissible tasks for dispatched workers.
Kim Jae-hyun, head of KEF's regulatory reform team, emphasized, "To secure a competitive edge in the global AI race, our companies must boldly reform outdated regulations that hinder the pace of development in advanced industries like AI and robotics."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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