OpenAI is being sued once again. This time by Koreans

The largest television broadcasters in South Korea are starting an open confrontation with the creators of ChatGPT. Public and private media giants accuse OpenAI of unlawfully using their materials to train generative artificial intelligence models and demand both a halt to the violations and compensation.

The lawsuit was filed with the Seoul District Court. It was submitted by the country’s three largest television stations – KBS, SBS and MBC – acting jointly through the Korea Broadcasters Association. This is the first time South Korean broadcasters have taken formal legal action against a global AI company.

Therefore, the matter has not only a business dimension, but also a symbolic one. According to representatives of the association, OpenAI was to use information materials on a large scale, treating them as raw material for training its models, and then making the effects of this work available as part of commercial services for which a subscription is supported.

Koreans accuse Americans of applying double standards. In their opinion, OpenAI is aware that the legal use of content requires a license, but has not entered into real negotiations with Korean broadcasters. At the same time, paid agreements were signed with foreign publishers, including News Corporation. As a result, the company’s copyright policy was described as discriminatory.

Broadcasters also point out a practical problem. Pursuing claims against global technology giants involves high procedural costs and evidentiary difficulties. In their opinion, these barriers make many entities give up fighting for their rights. The filed lawsuit is intended not only to defend the interests of the three stations, but also to send a signal to the entire market.

The case may become one of the most important precedents in the global debate on how AI companies should obtain training data. If the court finds in favor of the Korean broadcasters, the consequences could reach far beyond the local market and affect the relationship between the media and the AI ​​industry around the world.