As food advertisements using AI technology increase, regulators in Korea are taking notice and are beginning to crack down on advertisements using virtual figures or composite videos. In particular, there are concerns that these figures and/or videos may be misunderstood as expert recommendations or proof of objective efficacy.
For its part, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety ("MFDS") has started using an AI-based monitoring system to increase the efficiency of searching and detecting unfair online advertisements. With these heightened monitoring tools, food and beverage companies should preemptively review and consider the relevant legal risks before executing any advertisements using AI tools.
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Prohibition of Fake AI Professional Food Advertising
The amended Food Labeling and Advertising Act, promulgated in May 2026 and is scheduled to take effect in November 2026 ("Amended Act"), regulates advertisements that may be misconstrued by consumers as recommendations from experts; this includes virtual doctors or professors created with AI. Under the Amended Act, such false and/or misleading advertising may be subject to criminal punishment, such as imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to KRW 50 million. Given these significant consequences, even if AI avatars, virtual influencers, synthetic voices, and videos are simply planned for marketing purposes, exposure without prior legal review may open companies to significant regulatory exposure.
Separately, the Korea Fair Trade Commission amended its Review Guidelines on Labeling and Advertising for Recommendations and Endorsements, effective June 1, 2026, to require clear disclosure when AI-generated virtual persons are used in recommendation or endorsement advertisements. Accordingly, advertisements using AI-generated experts or virtual influencers should be reviewed not only under the Food Labeling and Advertising Act, but also for endorsement disclosure issues under Korea's general advertising regulations.
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Need to Review Transparency and Misleading Risks of AI-generated advertisements
In addition to Korea's food regulations, Korea passed its own AI regulation earlier this year. Korea's new AI legislation, commonly referred to as the "AI Basic Act", requires certain AI business operators to provide notices or labels for AI-generated outputs. These requirements are also aligned with increased demands for transparency in advertisements using generative AI.
Moreover, while there are no direct obligations to label AI generated images, etc. in advertising under the Food Labeling and Advertising Act (the "FLAA"), if an advertisement using AI-generated images, videos, voices, etc. is misconstrued as an expert recommendation, an actual user review, or objective proof of efficacy, there may be unfair advertisement issues under the FLAA.
With the increased scrutiny of regulators on advertising where AI tools are used, preemptive legal review of potential issues is critical.
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Strengthened Crackdown on AI-based Food Advertisements by the MFDS
The MFDS has been deploying an AI-based monitoring system to detect online unfair advertisements. There are also plans to expand the scope of automatic detection to include video and voice advertisements. In particular, as surveillance of short-form, live-commerce, and SNS ads with high transmission power and fast deployment may be strengthened, preemptive review of advertising content, including screen layout, subtitles, and statements by influencers, will be key.
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Key Takeaways
Food advertising requires a high degree of legal judgment that goes beyond simple phrase filtering; it requires analysis of audiovisual elements and assessment of the likelihood of misleading consumers. Before launching any advertising campaigns, particularly those using AI tools, food and beverage companies must check whether: (1) the use of virtual experts and composites is deceptive; (2) there are any associations with pharmaceuticals or claims related to illness (which are strictly prohibited); (3) new media channels, such as short-form videos and live commerce, use expressions that may create additional regulatory risks, and (4) global advertising materials prepared by overseas headquarters or external agencies comply with Korean law.
As regulators are expected to focus on the likelihood of misleading consumers rather than the mere use of AI tools themselves, a comprehensive legal review evaluating the overall impression and potential deceptiveness of the advertisement is critical.
[Korean Version]
