The Ministry of Science and ICT circulated a revised enforcement decree Thursday that would require creators to embed persistent watermarks on artificially generated video distributed on YouTube, Instagram, and domestic platforms such as Naver TV and KakaoTV before applying for ad revenue or sponsorship badges.
Labeling rules
Under the draft, which implements last year’s AI Framework Act, synthetic clips longer than 15 seconds must carry both a visible corner mark and metadata tags readable by platform crawlers. News and political content face stricter thresholds: any face-swap or voice clone of a public figure would need Korean-language disclosure in the first three seconds, regardless of where the video is hosted.
Ministry officials said the focus on YouTube reflects its share of teen viewing time and the ease with which creators export clips made with commercial lip-sync tools. A companion guideline lists acceptable watermark sizes and forbids transparency settings below 40 percent opacity—an attempt to stop creators from hiding labels behind captions.
Enforcement and industry pushback
Platforms would have 48 hours to remove unlabeled synthetic video after a user report, or face administrative fines up to 30 million won. Creators who deliberately strip watermarks before cross-posting could lose monetization privileges for six months. The Korea Internet Corporations Association, representing domestic hosts, asked for a 90-day implementation delay so engineers can update upload pipelines.
Studio representatives told reporters the rules may help professional drama producers distinguish licensed dubbing tools from fan-made deepfakes, but warned that watermark mandates alone cannot stop malicious political clips. They urged the ministry to pair labeling with faster takedown channels tied to the National Election Commission during campaign seasons.
Next steps
The draft enters a 40-day public comment window Friday. MSIT plans to finalize text before January, when separate penalties for enterprise developers who fail to document training data also take effect. For creators, the practical change is simple: if a clip is synthetic, the ministry wants viewers to know before the pre-roll ad finishes.