Instrument and legal status
Jurisdiction: South Korea
Issuer: Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS)
Publication date: 2026-10-01
Status: Final non-binding public-sector ethics framework and voluntary self-assessment guidance
Reviewed: 2026-10-17
FACT — official development
MOIS announced final public-sector AI ethics standards on 1 October 2026. The official release specifies six values: public interest, equity, transparency, accountability, safety and privacy protection; 68 detailed check items; and three tailored self-assessment levels: application (basic use), applied use (decision support) and integration (autonomous decision basis).
The framework emphasises human responsibility, review and intervention. MOIS describes practical guidance for public officials to assess and improve their AI use through voluntary self-checks.
INTERPRETATION — governance relationship
This is final non-binding ethical guidance, distinct from the AI Basic Act, its Enforcement Decree and the separate public-sector AI/data statute. The announcement supplies no statutory commencement date.
IMPLICATION — enterprise relevance
Public bodies and suppliers can use the checklist to structure responsibility, oversight and service-level assurance while separately mapping applicable statutory duties.