South Korea Publishes AI Agent Era Policy Manual — From Citizen Dialogue to Six Policy Tasks

On July 22, 2026, South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) published a comprehensive policy manual analyzing the impact of AI agents on daily life, labor markets, education, democracy, and national security — proposing six core policy tasks. This marks another significant milestone in East Asian AI governance.

Citizen-Driven Policymaking

The manual's distinctive feature is its methodology. Rather than being drafted behind closed doors by technical experts or government officials, it was compiled based on citizen forums and surveys involving both experts and the public. MSIT describes it as "an accessible summary of the opportunities and risks that AI agents will bring, along with key policy tasks to address them."

This participatory approach is unprecedented in global AI governance practice. Compared to the EU AI Act's expert-driven legislation and China's government-led approach, Korea has chosen a third path — embedding citizen voices into the core of AI governance. Hong Soon-jung, Director General of the Performance Evaluation Policy Bureau at MSIT, stated: "Going forward, we will build social consensus on future technologies through technology impact assessments in which experts and citizens participate together, and seek desirable directions for development."

Nine Impact Dimensions

The manual examines AI agents' transformative impact through nine lenses:

• Human-Agent Relationships — shifting from tools to collaborators to autonomous entities
• Labor Structure Changes — impact on employment, skills demand, and income distribution
• Personal Information Protection and Use — privacy challenges from agent data collection
• Social Acceptance and Future Education — cultivating talent for the AI era
• Convergence and Innovation — new industries and business models driven by AI agents
• Sovereignty and Security — potential national security threats from AI agents
• AI Sustainability — energy consumption, environmental impact, and long-term development
• Accountability — attribution of responsibility for agent behavior
• Civil Society and Democracy — impacts of disinformation and technological dependence

These nine dimensions span technology, economy, society, politics, and ethics, reflecting the Korean government's systematic thinking about AI agents' multi-faceted impact.

Six Policy Tasks

Based on the analysis, the manual proposes six core policy tasks:

• Establishing an AI accountability system — clarifying legal responsibility for agent behavior across developers, deployers, and users
• Improving personal information protection and use systems — balancing data utilization with privacy protection
• Strengthening talent development and lifelong education — addressing AI agents' impact on employment structures
• Creating an environment for human-AI collaboration — ensuring agents augment rather than replace human capabilities
• Securing AI safety and reliability — building verifiable and auditable mechanisms for agent behavior
• Strengthening digital sovereignty and national competitiveness — protecting Korea's sovereign interests in global AI competition

Korea's Distinctive Path

Korea's AI agent policy manual reflects a unique approach to AI governance:

Citizen participation first. Unlike the EU's expert-driven legislation, Korea grounds policy development in citizen forums and surveys. While this may slow policymaking, it increases public acceptance and legitimacy.

Social impact over technical standards. The manual focuses more on AI agents' effects on social structures — labor markets, education, democracy — rather than technical standards and compliance requirements. This contrasts sharply with the EU AI Act's product-safety orientation and China's government-control approach.

Policy flexibility. Published as a downloadable PDF rather than legally binding regulation, the manual can be updated as the field evolves. This flexibility keeps policy relevant in rapidly changing AI landscapes, though it lacks enforcement power.

Enterprise Implications

For enterprises operating in Korea, this manual signals:

• AI accountability will become a regulatory focus — enterprises need clear responsibility chains for agent behavior
• Personal information protection may tighten — agent data collection practices will face increased scrutiny
• Workforce training becomes a compliance expectation — enterprises should provide AI-era skills training for employees
• Auditability becomes a prerequisite for agent deployment — agent behavior must be traceable and verifiable

The manual is available for download from MSIT and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning websites starting July 23. While not legally binding, it signals the direction of future Korean AI agent legislation. Enterprises should treat it as a policy signal, not a final regulation.