Launch of ‘Civil Society Joint Action for Strengthening Accountability and Public Interest in AI’

Aiming to Establish Accountability, Public Interest, and Democratic Governance in AI
Participation of 41 civil society organizations nationwide covering human rights, labor, welfare, gender, environment, peace, etc.

On March 31, 2026, 41 civil society organizations nationwide—including those working on human rights, labor, welfare, women’s rights, environment, consumer rights, and peace—formed the “Civil Society Joint Action for Strengthening Accountability and Public Interest in AI” (hereinafter “AI Civil Action”) and held a launch press conference at the Areumdeuri Hall of People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy. AI Civil Action identified its main objectives as strengthening accountability and public interest in the development and use of AI, establishing democratic governance, and fostering a democratic public sphere. It also stated that it would mobilize collective capacity and solidarity to shift the current one-sided direction of government policy, which relaxes regulations on data and the environment in the name of AI development and use while neglecting the rights of affected people and communities.

At the national level, the government is rapidly promoting the AI industry and accelerating an AI transformation (AI AX) across all sectors of society. However, it is urgently necessary to shift government policy, which overlooks the reality that various problems are emerging or existing social issues are being exacerbated—such as job displacement and intensified labor conditions, infringements on the right to personal data, exploitation of the environment and resources, and bias and discrimination in training data. Civil society has long called on the government to establish a basic legal and policy framework for AI that guarantees human rights, safety, and democracy. It has proposed principles and directions for policies across different domains of AI and will continue to respond on a sector-by-sector basis. At the same time, however, there has been a growing demand for a collective civil society response that brings together the voices of citizens, workers, and communities affected by the rapid AI transformation occurring across diverse fields. Through the submission of a joint opinion on the National AI Action Plan on January 8, as well as multiple rounds of discussion and deliberation, civil society organizations have shared the experience and expertise accumulated in each sector. At the same time, they have agreed to establish common goals and directions for joint action and to pool their collective capacity and solidarity in order to shift the current direction of national policy—one that relaxes regulations on data and the environment in the name of AI development and use while neglecting the rights of affected people and communities.

AI Civil Action stated that, as preconditions for achieving trustworthy, safe, and controllable AI, there must be a shift from the current technology-centered AI policies to social policy; the guarantee of citizen participation as diverse stakeholders in decision-making processes; the protection of human dignity and human rights and a commitment to sustainability; the safeguarding of human rights and the right to informational self-determination across the entire lifecycle of AI—including development, training, deployment, and operation; the realization of gender equality throughout policy-making; and the assurance of sustainability in the context of environmental and climate crises. AI Civil Action declared that it would join forces and act in solidarity to ensure that these demands are reflected and implemented in policy processes.

At today’s launch press conference, moderated by Lee Jae-Keun, Co-Executive Director of AI Civil Action, the program began with a keynote presentation by Oh Byoung-il, Co-Executive Director, on “The Tasks and Roles of Civil Society in the Age of AI.” This was followed by remarks from Lee Mi-hyun, Deputy Secretary General of People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, and Choi Ho-woong, Chair of the Digital Information Committee of MINBYUN–Lawyers for a Democratic Society, addressing pressing issues such as “The U.S. Invasion of Iran and the Militarization of AI” and “The Crisis of Digital Rights in Light of Permitting the Use of Raw Data in Autonomous Vehicles.” Subsequently, there were explanations of the social problems caused by the expansion of AI across different sectors and the corresponding responses of civil society as followings:

– The Threat of a Second and Third Atlas to Labor Rights / Hong Ji-uk, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU)

– The Problem of Gender Bias in Data and Algorithms, and the Deepening of Discrimination and Violence / Yang Yi-hyun-kyung, Korea Women’s Associations United(KWAU)

– The Establishment of Data Centers and the Intensification of the Climate Crisis / Lee Heon-seok, Energy Justice Action

– AI and the Weakening of Publicness in Welfare and Healthcare / Jeon Jin-han, Korean Federation of Medical Groups for Health Rights,

– AI and Changes in the Cultural Environment / Ha Jang-ho, Cultural Action

Participants pledged, in the name of AI Civil Action, to concentrate their efforts on achieving a just transition to an AI-driven society and ensuring that AI is safe and controllable.(end)

▣ Declaration on the Launch

Declaration on the Launch of the ‘Civil Society Joint Action for Strengthening Accountability and Public Interest in AI’

The advancement of AI does not necessarily mean an improvement in our lives!

As the Lee Jae-myung administration promotes the vision of becoming an “AI powerhouse,” it is fostering the AI industry at the national level and deploying AI across various sectors of society, rapidly advancing what is referred to as the AI transformation (AX). However, while AI development brings benefits, the ways in which it threatens our lives are also accelerating.

Despite the controversy surrounding the AI chatbot “Iruda” in 2020, discriminatory AI speakers toward women and persons with disabilities are still being used in school education. Meanwhile, unverified autonomous vehicles are being deployed on the streets, putting public safety at risk. Algorithms already shape the media public sphere and labor, influence financial services and social welfare benefits, and even enable automated administration and decision-making that replace human roles. In addition, AI weapons are being used in ongoing conflicts, and the militarization of AI is rapidly progressing.

What about the labor field? Companies are unilaterally announcing plans to deploy AI robots in production sites—citing efficiency and cost reduction—without prior consultation with workers, thereby threatening jobs. In workplaces such as call centers, where chatbots were introduced early on, the intensity of labor has instead increased to an incomparable degree.

AI also poses serious environmental and resource concerns throughout its entire lifecycle—from development and training to deployment and operation—including massive electricity consumption, a significant carbon footprint, depletion of water resources for data center cooling, and electronic waste generated during hardware production and disposal.

As such, we are facing a reality in which various problems are emerging or existing social issues are being exacerbated, including violations of personal data, bias and discrimination in training data, threats to the public sphere by algorithms, job displacement and intensified labor conditions, and the exploitation of the environment and resources.

We call for strengthening accountability and public interest in AI!

Nevertheless, national AI policy remains heavily skewed toward promotion and industrial development. The AI Basic Act, which came into effect on January 22, places its center of gravity on fostering the AI industry to such an extent that it is difficult to even regard it as a true “basic law,” while imposing only minimal responsibilities and obligations on AI companies and users. Likewise, the National AI Action Plan finalized by the National AI Strategy Committee on February 25 focuses primarily on technological advancement and growth, rather than on strengthening the public interest and accountability of AI, even as AI is increasingly functioning as a form of social infrastructure.

Before it is too late, there is an urgent need to shift the direction of government policy, which relaxes regulations on data and the environment in the name of AI development and use, while neglecting the rights of affected people and communities. AI policy must no longer be driven solely by technical experts and bureaucrats in a way that allows public decision-making—lacking democratic procedures and oversight—to determine the lives of citizens.

Civil society has long called on the government to establish AI laws and policies that guarantee human rights, safety, and democracy. It has also demanded stronger social accountability from AI companies. Civil society has presented principles and directions for policy across different sectors and will continue to respond on a sector-by-sector basis. At the same time, it will pursue joint action among civil society organizations to bring together the voices of citizens, workers, and communities affected by the rapid AI transformation across diverse fields.

Accordingly, we hereby launch the “Civil Society Joint Action for Strengthening Accountability and Public Interest in AI” and aim to pool our collective capacity and solidarity to shift the direction of one-sided government policies—those that relax regulations on data and the environment in the name of AI development and use while neglecting the rights of affected people and communities.

Citizens affected by AI policy must participate!

We have consistently pointed out the responsibilities of corporations and the government. However, this alone is not enough. We must more actively demand and build a shift toward social policies that secure the public interest of AI and guarantee human rights and democracy. The current reality—where AI policies led by technical experts and bureaucrats are treated as the national standard—must be corrected. Decision-making must reflect the voices of those affected, so that citizens’ lives are shaped through democratic procedures.

Therefore, the existing technology-centered AI policies must be transformed into social policies, and to this end, the participation of citizens as diverse stakeholders in decision-making processes must be guaranteed. AI policy must not serve corporations and capital, but instead meet the needs of citizens and workers while ensuring human dignity and human rights. Human rights and the right to informational self-determination must be guaranteed across the entire lifecycle of AI, including its development, training, deployment, and operation. Gender equality must be realized throughout policy-making, and sustainability must be ensured in the context of environmental and climate crises. These demands constitute the fundamental preconditions for achieving trustworthy, safe, and controllable AI.

Accordingly, we make the following demands of the government, corporations, and society at large:

Strengthen accountability and the public interest in the development and use of artificial intelligence!

Establish democratic governance in the formulation and implementation of AI-related policies!

Build a democratic public sphere on artificial intelligence!

We hereby call for a just transition to an AI-driven society, pledge to strengthen the capacity of civil society, and declare the launch of the “Civil Society Joint Action for Strengthening Accountability and Public Interest in AI,” committing to solidarity and collective action.

March 31, 2026.

All participating organizations of the ‘Civil Society Joint Action for Strengthening Accountability and Public Interest in AI’

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Civil Society Joint Action for Strengthening Accountability and Public Interest in AI

Participating Orgatnizations

(사)김용균재단, Incorporated Association Kim Yong Kyun Foundation
(사)서울여성노동자회, Seoul Women Workers Association
건강권실현을위한보건의료단체연합(건강권실현을위한행동하는간호사회, 건강사회를위한약사회, 건강사회를위한치과의사회, 노동건강연대,인도주의실천의사협의회, 참의료실현청년한의사회), Korean Federation of Medical Groups for Health Rights (Korean Nurses association for Health Rights, Korean Pharmacists for Democratic Society, Korean Dentists Association for Healthy Society, Solidarity for Worker’s Health, Association of Physicians for Humanism, Doctors of Korean Medicine for Health Rights)
국제앰네스티 한국지부, Amnesty International Korea
녹색연합, Green Korea United
대구참여연대, Daegu PSPD
디지털정의네트워크, Digital Justice Network
디케입법정책연구원, DIKE Institute for Legislative Policy Research
문화연대, Cultural Action
미디어기독연대, Media Christian Solidarity
민주사회를 위한 변호사모임, MINBYUN(Lawyers for a Democratic Society)
빈곤사회연대, Korean People’s Solidarity Against Poverty
사단법인 수원여성의전화, Suwon Women’s Hot-Line
사회적협동조합 빠띠, Parti Co-op
서울YMCA 시민중계실, Citizen’s Mediation Center Seoul YMCA
소비자시민모임, Consumers Korea
시민건강연구소, People’s Health Institute
에너지정의행동, Energy Justice Actions
울산시민연대, Ulsan people’s solidarity
의료민영화저지와 무상의료실현을 위한 운동본부, Headquarters of the Movement to Stop Healthcare Privatisation and Achieve Free Healthcare
인권운동네트워크 바람, Activists group for Human Rights ‘BARAM‘
인권운동사랑방, SARANGBANG Group for human rights
전국민주노동조합총연맹, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU)
정보공유연대, IPLeft
정보인권연구소, Institute for Digital Rights
제주평화인권센터, Jeju Peace Humanrights Center
직장갑질119, Gabjil119
참여연대, People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy(PSPD)
충북민주언론시민연합, Citizens’ Coalition for Democratic Media Chungbuk
캣츠랩, Cat’s Lab
투명사회를 위한 정보공개센터, The Center for Freedom of Information and Transparent Society
팔레스타인평화연대, BDS Korea
표현의 자유와 언론탄압 공동대책위원회, Joint Committee for Freedom of Expression and Against Media Repression
한국노동안전보건연구소, Korean Institute of Labor Safety and Health
한국노동조합총연맹, Federation of Korean Trade Unions
한국소비자단체협의회, Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations
한국소비자연맹, Consumers union of Korea
한국여성단체연합, Korea Women’s Associations United(KWAU)
한국여성민우회, WomenLink
한국여성소비자연합, Korean Women’s Federation for Consumer
환경운동연합, Korean Federation for Environmental Movement

Observing Organizations

녹색당 과학기술위원회, Science and Technology Committee of Green Party Korea