South Korea’s Big Broadcasters vs. OpenAI: A Legal Clash Over AI Training and Copyright
In a move that could reshape how generative AI companies access and use media content worldwide, South Korea’s three major television broadcasters — Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), and Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) — have filed a landmark lawsuit against OpenAI, the developer behind ChatGPT. (Korea Herald)
This isn’t just another copyright case — it’s a high-stakes battle over who controls the data that drives AI systems and how creators should be compensated when their work fuels commercial AI products.
🧨 The Lawsuit at a Glance
On 23 February 2026, KBS, MBC and SBS jointly took OpenAI to the Seoul Central District Court, accusing the company of:
- Unauthorized use of their news content to train ChatGPT, allegedly without consent or licensing agreements. (Korea Joongang Daily)
- Copyright infringement and unfair exploitation of valuable intellectual property. (매일경제)
- Seeking an injunction to stop OpenAI from continuing to use the content, along with damages for losses. (AAStocks)
According to the broadcasters, their news content represents a “core asset” — the product of years of investment, time and editorial labour — and using it at scale without meaningful consultation or compensation undermines both journalism and creative rights. (매일경제)
It’s also the first time major Korean broadcasters have taken joint legal action against a global AI company, signaling a potentially wider shift in how traditional media confronts the rise of generative AI. (Korea Herald)
⚖️ Why This Case Matters
1. Copyright Meets AI Training
Generative AI models like ChatGPT improve their responses by learning from huge datasets — often scraped from the web. But who owns the training data? And when does data use cross the line into infringement?
Globally, similar debates are already underway. Media groups and creators in the US, Europe and Asia have filed lawsuits or raised objections alleging unauthorized use of their works by AI developers. (Wikipedia)
South Korea’s case adds fresh urgency, framing the issue as not just legal but an economic and cultural question of data rights.
🌏 Broader Implications
Fair Compensation and Licensing Models
The broadcasters argued that while OpenAI has signed licensing deals with several foreign media outlets, it has shown “discriminatory” behaviour by not engaging with Korean broadcasters for similar agreements. (매일경제)
If the court sides with the plaintiffs, it could:
- Trigger new licensing standards for AI training data.
- Spur negotiations between AI developers and global media companies.
- Set a precedent for other content owners to seek compensation, especially in markets with strong copyright protections.
📌 What Comes Next
The lawsuit marks just the beginning. Legal experts and industry observers will watch closely to see how South Korea’s courts interpret the intersection of copyright law, AI training practices, and data sovereignty — especially as the nation implements new AI regulatory frameworks. (MLex)
Whether this becomes a watershed moment that forces generative AI companies to rethink their data strategies remains to be seen — but one thing is clear: the era of unchecked AI content scraping might be facing its biggest legal test yet.
📘 Glossary
Generative AI – A class of artificial intelligence models that can generate text, audio, images, or other media based on patterns learned from large datasets.
Training Data – The collection of text, images or other information used to teach an AI model how to recognize patterns and make predictions.
Copyright Infringement – When copyrighted material is used without permission in a way that violates the owner’s exclusive rights under law.
Injunction – A court order that requires a party to stop performing certain actions — here, it would block OpenAI from using the broadcasters’ content further.
Source link:
https://www.techinasia.com/news/south-korean-broadcasters-sue-openai-over-ai-training
