South Korea and Japan coordinate AI copyright policies

South Korea and Japan held the ‘2026 Korea-Japan Intergovernmental Copyright Meeting and Seminar’ in Seoul on September 9–10 to address copyright challenges posed by artificial intelligence. The discussions focused on balancing the protection of creators' rights with the growth of the AI industry.

South Korea introduced its policy and financial responses, including a plan to triple the 2027 budget for opening public works for AI training data and a new 3.1 billion won investment in R&D for AI copyright governance. Japan expressed interest in South Korea’s legal guidelines regarding fair use in AI training and its established consultative bodies.

The two nations also discussed combating online copyright infringement. Japan noted that after experiencing South Korea’s AI-driven comprehensive response system in 2024, it has secured a budget to implement a similar system. Additionally, officials visited the Korea Music Copyright Association to discuss increasing transparency in the collection and distribution of music royalties.