As South Korea accelerates the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) across its public institutions, a new report warns that the rapid adoption is outpacing legal and ethical safeguards, potentially putting human rights at risk.
The Korean Progressive Network Jinbonet and the Institute for Digital Rights with support from the Association for Progressive Communications, the report examines the country’s sweeping use of AI in public administration, law enforcement, education, and social welfare. It raises red flags about opacity, surveillance, data privacy, and a lack of public oversight.
AI systems are now widely integrated into public services, from chatbots assisting civil servants to real-time facial recognition tools used by police. However, the report finds that there is no comprehensive management system tracking what types of AI are being implemented, for what purposes, or how they are being governed. The authors argue this lack of transparency erodes public trust and undermines democratic oversight.
One of the most pressing concerns involves the use of AI by law enforcement. The National Police Agency’s ongoing push to develop “real-time crime prediction” technologies and intelligent CCTV surveillance—powered by massive data integration from public and private sources—has sparked fears of excessive surveillance and biased policing. The report highlights that these technologies, including facial and behavior recognition tools, are being developed with minimal public consultation or independent human rights review.
The authors also criticize the Ministry of Justice’s controversial Immigration AI project, which used 170 million pieces of biometric data—including facial recognition data collected without individual consent—to train tracking algorithms. While the ministry denies any legal violations, critics argue the project lacked transparency and failed to meet constitutional privacy standards.
In education, the Ministry of Education’s AI Digital Textbook initiative, set for a 2025 rollout, is facing backlash from teachers and civil society groups over concerns about student data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the exclusion of educators from decision-making processes. In the social welfare sector, AI is being used to monitor elderly health, detect fraud, and manage benefits—yet the systems have been criticized for lacking consent protocols and failing to account for the needs of vulnerable populations.
Despite growing calls for regulation, the 2024 passage of South Korea’s AI Framework Act has done little to address these issues, the report says. While the legislation promotes AI industry growth, it lacks critical safeguards such as a ban on high-risk AI systems and guarantees for affected individuals to seek remedies.
The report recommends the introduction of a mandatory AI registration system for public institutions, robust human rights impact assessments, and legally binding guidelines for AI use. It also calls for the inclusion of civil society voices in AI policy and stronger oversight of how citizen data is collected and used—particularly by law enforcement agencies.
With the government planning to further expand AI deployment in 2025 through initiatives like a Korean-style Real Time Crime Center and AI-based education tools, the report serves as a stark warning: technological advancement must not come at the expense of democratic accountability and human rights.
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