AI-assisted song charts in Korea while copyright rules lag

The useful part

"Forest of the Heart," released in May by YouTube creator Joseon HipHop, peaked at No. 99 on the daily chart for Melon, one of the country's top streaming platforms, according to Yonhap News Agency. The creator wrote the lyrics and produced the melody and vocals using Suno, a generative music AI service.

How it works

• The song has since dropped out of both charts, but its run showed that AI-assisted music can already reach mainstream listeners here, well before rules on authorship and royalties are in place.
• In March, the Board of Audit and Inspection said 29 composers had submitted more than 200 songs each to the Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) in 2024, and roughly 5,200 of those songs showed signs...
• 3, KOMCA responded with rules allowing AI-assisted music to be registered for trust management when a person has made a contribution to the lyrics, composition and arrangement or other aspects of the work.
• Such tools, however, reportedly still struggle to spot tracks in which AI handled only part of the work.
• He said Korea must respond quickly and consistently while preparing for broader changes in how music is created, distributed, licensed and compensated.

What to take from it

With AI-assisted songs already being released, streamed and, in at least one case, climbing a major chart, the question for Korea's music industry is no longer whether AI music will enter the mainstream, but whether the rules can catch up now that it has. The track became popular by word of mouth, especially among listeners in their 40s. Critics argued that no social consensus had been reached on the issue, and the ministry sent KOMCA an official letter on Aug.

Example or evidence

• "Rather than responding to individual short-term issues, the key is to design the system preemptively, with the entire AI music ecosystem that lies ahead in mind," he told The Korea Times.
• Lee Jong-pil, CEO of Neutune, a Korean startup that develops attribution and rights-tracking technology for AI music, said the flood of tracks is "deepening distortions" across the music distribution system.
• gettyimagesbank Global benchmarks Other markets have drawn clearer lines on human authorship.
• Copyright Office concluded in January 2025 that prompts alone are not enough for copyright protection, and the U.S.

Details worth keeping

Songs made simply by entering prompts were excluded. In response, KOMCA's board withdrew the rules on Aug. 25, cancelling registrations made in the interim.

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